Harry Potter and The Ancient's Bane
by Kalistar
Summary: Crossover wSGA. After Voldemort's attack, Harry is found by the Sheppard family. Plagued by dreams of a deserted city and a fearsome enemy, will Harry and John find the means to save them all or will the Ancient's bane conquer both galaxies?
1. Found

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

**Summary: Crossover w/SGA. Harry's twin is thought to be the BWL. After disappearing the night of Voldemort's attack, Harry is found and raised by the Sheppard family. Plagued by strange dreams of a deserted city and a fearsome enemy, will Harry find the means to save them all? Will he save the wizarding world from their folly?**

**A/N: This story will take place mostly in Stargate Atlantis universe after Voldemort's downfall, which will be quick. There is a minor crossover with Torchwood, but other than some people and specific events, it is not a major setting and pretty much never mentioned after chapter 2.**

**October 31****st****, 1981, Godric's Hollow**

James and Lily Potter were parents to fraternal twin brothers living in a modest home on the outskirts of Godric's Hollow in Wales. While this might seem to be a perfectly normal family, in truth, they were anything but. James and Lily were magical; they had met each other while attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry. Over the course of 7 seven years, James had sought after and finally won the heart of Lily Evans. The pair was married shortly after graduating in 1977. 

Being able to use magic wasn't the only thing that set them apart from a normal family. Shortly before their sons were born, they received a visit from Albus Dumbledore, their former headmaster and the leader in the fight against Voldemort, the darkest wizard of their time. The news wasn't good. It seemed that there was a good chance that one of their unborn sons was destined to be the savior of the wizarding world by ridding them of the threat of Voldemort.

As much possible the two pushed the prophecy to the back of their minds. There was nothing to be done about it until their sons were born. So on July 31st, 1980 Lily Potter gave birth to a pair of boys. Both had dark brown almost black hair but the first born had hazel eyes like James while the younger of the two had brilliant green eyes like Lily. 

It was a few weeks after they returned home that Albus Dumbledore once again visited them. After studying the two boys while they were sleeping, he came to the conclusion that Thomas, being the elder twin, was more likely to be the one mentioned in the prophecy.

Without meaning to, James and Lily began to favor Thomas over Harry. Now Harry was never neglected but any attention he received from his parents was an afterthought. Harry got fed when Thomas was hungry, changed when Thomas needed it, put down for a nap when Thomas was tired. He was never put first but he wasn't ignored.

James was the first to realize what they were doing and began making a conscious effort to spend more time with Harry and put him first. This was never more evident than one day while playing with Harry, Lily told him to come over and play with Thomas instead. "Lily, I'm playing with Harry." He protested making no effort to move.

Lily glared at James for defying her. "James, Thomas is the one in the prophecy. He needs your attention not Harry." 

"We don't even know if the prophecy is about either of them, it could be Neville Longbottom. I won't ignore one son for the other." James said while bouncing a plush toy in front of Harry always moving it 

just out of his grasp. Harry's giggles were more than enough of an argument for James to keep playing with him.

"I just know Thomas is the Chosen One. Harry will always be a nobody compared to his brother. We need to do everything we can to make sure Thomas reaches his potential." Lily asserted hotly. 

But James ignored her and continued to play with Harry. From that day onward, he made sure to always give Harry the attention and love he deserved since he was certain that Lily wouldn't. It bothered him though. Lily had never been like this in school, she had always treated everyone equally regardless of their magical talents and now here she was dismissing one of their own children before they even knew his potential.

Sirius Black, godfather to both Thomas and Harry and James' best friend, agreed with him. He had grown up under the expectations of parents and knew what it felt like to be forced to be something you aren't.

Remus Lupin, another close friend did not entirely agree with Lily but felt she was right to give Thomas more attention. If he truly was the Chosen One, he would need all the love and support he could get because he would always be singled out in the Wizarding world, never allowed to live a normal life. It was a situation that he was intimately familiar with as a werewolf.

And so time passed as it was wont to do. Gradually, James and Lily were drifting apart because of the continued tension over the two boys and the ever increasing threat from Voldemort. It all came to a head on that fateful Halloween, 1981.

James and Lily had just put the boys down for bed when James felt the wards around their home shatter and collapse. Voldemort had found them.

"Lily, take Thomas and get out of here. I will get Harry." James said urgently moving over to Harry's crib.

"James leave him! We don't have time and Thomas must be kept safe!" She had already picked Thomas up and was hugging him to her chest. A look of concentration passed over her face followed by one of pain making her gasp "James, I can't apparate. There must be wards up." 

"Stay behind me." James ordered, preparing to die for his family.

The door to the bedroom and a good portion of the wall exploded inward. In the resulting confusion, Voldemort stepped in and stunned James before he ever got a spell off. Sparing a moment to sneer at the fallen form of his foe, Voldemort reflected on the pain and torment he would suffer on waking when he realized both his children were dead. It would be far worse than simply killing the man and his mudblood wife.

Lily paled when she saw James collapse. Feeling a sense of hopelessness, she put Thomas back in his crib and turned to face Voldemort.



Voldemort, standing straight and tall, his wand held tightly in his pale hand asked in an emotionless voice "I'm not totally without pity. Choose which of your sons will be the first to die. Who knows maybe someone will rescue you before I kill them both."

Lily didn't even have to think about it. Thomas must be protected at all costs. There was only the briefest feeling of guilt for being so cold to Harry in his short life but she pushed it away. "Harry. It should be Harry."

Voldemort's body shook softly as he chuckled. "And they call me cold. If only they could see you, a veritable pillar for the light, sacrificing one of her sons with no remorse. No, I don't think people would react very well to that at all."

"I love both of my sons!" Lily shouted which caused both Harry and Thomas to start crying.

"Of course you do, you just love Harry less. Regardless, you will not be awake to see either of them die." And before Lily could move, Voldemort had stunned her. Like her husband, the pain she would experience would be much more enjoyable for him to watch than merely killing her outright.

On a whim, he decided to honor Lily's decision and moved over to Harry's crib. "You're better off this way boy. Clearly your mother doesn't care about you." He paused for a second before aiming his wand at Harry and chanting _"Avada Kedavra_!"

**October 31****st****, 1981, Torchwood 3, Cardiff**

Founded more than 100 years ago, Torchwood was created as an independent organization by the Queen of England to safeguard the nation against alien threats. But in order to safeguard then nation, they had to understand the aliens and their technology so Torchwood was also a search and retrieval organization, investigating disturbances that could be alien in nature and confiscating any technology they found for study and assimilation.

Soon after its founding, Torchwood was brought in on the secret of the wizarding world. It was felt that in order to be truly effective in protecting the British Empire from unknown threats they would need to know the difference between magical threats and alien threats. Since that time, the line had been blurred on occasion and while Torchwood did not take an active role in the wizarding world, they did keep their eye on current events and would investigate strange incidents.

Over time Torchwood grew. While the British Empire faded into the mists of time, Torchwood remained vigilant. With the development of the global political stage, Torchwood began to recruit members from other nations, augmenting the organization with skills and insights from the other countries. But still, their operations remained centered within the UK.

Torchwood 3 was one of the smaller facilities. It only maintained one active team ranging between 5 – 7 agents. Being located in Cardiff Wales atop a temporal-spatial rift kept them busy dealing with the alien artifacts and beings that were drawn to the area because of the energy given off by the rift. It was a relentless job that sometimes took its toll on the team but drew them together into a tightly knit group as well. They were comrades forged in the fires of adversity.

Captain Jack Harkness, a tall good looking man with dark brown hair and pale blue eyes that appeared to be in his late 30s was sitting behind his desk in the Torchwood 3 facility. He had been in charge of the 

facility for quite some time now and was enjoying one of the first quiet nights in the last few weeks. Unfortunately for him, the quiet was soon shattered by an alarm blaring throughout the facility accompanied by the red flashing lights.

Emerging from his glass enclosed office, he ran down the stairs to the main level and asked "Anna, what do we have?"

Anna, a slight proper woman with short brown hair and gray eyes was standing over a computer station that appeared to have been pulled out of a science fiction movie. The screen was flashing in time to the lights flashing around them. Dimly she noted the sound of footsteps on the metal walkways and she could only assume that the rest of the team was rushing over.

Jack was growing impatient when Anna refused to answer. She was apparently analyzing the data and waiting for the rest of the team to arrive. Once everyone was assembled she looked up and was tempted to stick her tongue out at Jack. He could be so easy to tease but now wasn't the time and the look on his face was enough to tell her that it wouldn't be appreciated.

"There was a level 4 magical disturbance just outside of Godric's hollow. I don't have any data on survivors but the magical discharge was immense."

Jack thought through the situation for a moment. Normally, they tried to stay out of the wizarding world but a level 4 event was too big to ignore. "Ok, we're going in. Anna you coordinate from here. Michael, Diana and I will investigate the site of the disturbance."

Anna nodded in understanding. 

Michael Sheppard, a man in his late thirties with dark brown, messy hair left to prep the car. He was fairly new to Torchwood but he was an American that had been trained in the military so Jack was happy to have him along. It never hurt to have someone trained to defend themselves. 

The only negative Jack had found with him so far was that he had a family. It had been Jack's experience that agents with families tended to put them first when the chips were down. To make matters worse, Michael had a son that had just turned 13. While Jack personally liked him, he thought that one of the other branches might be a better fit in the long run. 

Diana was the oldest of the four. She was in her late forties and was in quite good shape for her age. Her jet black hair was pulled back into a pony tail and she was dressed in a pair of jeans and a black long-sleeve turtleneck. While Michael was readying the car she went and retrieved some basic equipment, a hand held scanner and the side arms. Part of her hoped someone got in their way, the guns may look like normal pistols, but they were anything but. They had been modified using alien technology so now they had more in common with Star Trek phasers than a typical gun.

Five minutes later, the trio was on the road, following directions given to them via radio by Anna. Luckily given the time of night, there was virtually no traffic on the road. The engine in the black van roared as it shot down the dark roads. Even traveling at close to 200 kilometers per hour, it took them close to 45 minutes to reach the site.



The three were quiet as they got out of the van and approached the smoking remains of the home. It appeared to have collapsed in on itself as a result of whatever had happened. The entire second floor was gone and gaping holes dotted the walls. It was surely on the verge of collapsing, so much so that Jack decided it wasn't worth the risk of investigating directly.

"Ok spread out but stay away from the house. I don't want anyone hurt when that thing collapses."

Before splitting up, Diana handed each one a small hand held scanner that could be used to take energy readings. Jack started to circle to the left side of the house while Michael took the right side and Diana focused on the front.

It didn't take long for Jack to find something. In addition to the high levels of necromantic energies permeating the ruins of the home, Jack found something quite unexpected. There lying on the ground was the unconscious form of a young child. He was had no blanket or anything to give a clue to his identity, just a set of generic blue pajamas. 

A tiny voice in the back of his mind was urging Jack to save the boy. Assuming that there was no one else to care for the boy, he would be alone in the world. It was impossible to not to see the parallels between him and this child. Since reviving after the encounter with the Daleks, he had been disconnected from everyone, different, forced to keep everyone at arm's length for fear of how they would react to his secret.

Jack took a moment to study the home. It would have been impossible for someone to still be alive in the ruins of the home. If this was indeed an attack the way it appeared, then it wouldn't be safe to make the boy's survival public. He was alone, like Jack. 

Strong, calloused hands gently lifted Harry from the grass. A sliver of concern sliced through him when Harry didn't even stir. Jack could only hope that he would recover from whatever had happened. One arm cradled Harry to his chest while the other reached over to activate his earpiece. 

"Everybody, wrap things up. I found a survivor and we need to get him checked out."

Back at Torchwood, Anna frowned there was something wrong with Jack. She couldn't quite put her finger on it but he was rattled.

Even though he was carrying Harry and moving carefully, Jack was the first one to reach the van. By the time Michael and Diana made it back, Jack had rigged up a makeshift method to keep Harry secure on the stretcher they routinely carried in the back on the van in case of injuries.

Diana was the first to arrive being the closest since she was searching the front portion of the ruined home. She saw Jack standing at the rear of the van and moved over to him swiftly. "Have you gotten anything out of them? Do you know what happened here?"

Jack finished securing Harry to the stretcher before answering Diana's question. His head shook side to side and his body moved slightly so that Diana could get a view of the stretcher. 



She leaned in and caught a sight of the unconscious child. "I guess not." She answered her own question dryly. Even if the child had been awake he was clearly too young to know more than a few words. "Was there any indication as to who lives here or if there might be any survivors?"

Michael had arrived in time to hear Diana's second question. "I didn't pick up any signs of movement or anything else within the house. Whoever lived here, they must be dead." There was a note of detachment in his voice. It was his Michael's way of dealing with the deaths they saw while on the job.

"Poor kid." Diana added sadly at the same time, she moved over to the passenger side and stepped in.

"We need to get him checked out back at Torchwood." Jack said briskly. "Michael, get in the van. I want to get out of here before any wizards show up." Normally Michael drove but this time Jack got into the driver's seat and took off into the night. Some instinct was urging him to get back to the base as soon as possible. There was something putting the boy in danger and he could only hope that he could find the answer in time.

**October 31****st****, 1981, Godric's Hollow**

Albus Dumbledore along with Alastor Moody, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Sturgis Podmore arrived at the ruins of the Potter Home not long after Jack and his team left. 

Sirius wanted to break down at the sight of the ruins and Remus had to fight to retain control of the wolf within him. 

Alastor just shook his head at the loss of another two soldiers in the fight against Voldemort.

Albus only hoped that they had arrived in time to save the Chosen One. The explosion of magic could mean nothing else. Whatever had happened had destroyed Voldemort, there was no other explanation for such a powerful blast of magic. It was unfortunate that James and Lily were dead but it would make it easier for him to mold the boy into the figure head that would lead the wizarding world according to his design.

It was a struggle for Sirius to control the tears that were welling in his eyes. A wave of lethargy washed over him. He wanted nothing more than to collapse on the ground and wail his loss to the night. But he couldn't do it, James and his family deserved to be laid to rest. It wasn't right that they should by lying in the ruins of their home.

Unknowingly the group of men mimicked the Torchwood team and spread out to approach the home from different angles. Unlike Torchwood, they had the advantage of magic to keep them safe and allow them to enter the home.

Dumbledore was first inside. He was followed by Remus. Alastor, Sirius and Sturgis were entering from the rear of the home.

"Albus did you hear that?" Remus' keen hearing had picked up a whimper coming from what used to be the study. 



Blues eyes twinkling in humor Albus responded "Not all of us are gifted with enhanced senses Remus. What was it you heard?" As long as Remus remembered his place in the scheme of things, Albus was willing to tolerate the man, werewolf or not. Now for once, the curse was coming in handy.

"It was this way." Remus focused on the noise and led Albus into the study. What he found was astounding and he called out for Sirius. "Sirius, they're in the study. They're alive."

Albus struggled with himself. He maintained his cheery front but inwardly was gnashing his teeth. This would make his plans much more difficult. Ah well, no use crying over it now. With a wave of his wand, he cleared the debris from the floor and approached the prone forms of James and Lily. To his relief he found Thomas as well. It must have been the boy that Remus heard since he was crying tiredly. Amazingly there wasn't a scratch on him; the power the boy must have to accomplish such a feat at his age was staggering. "Come we must get them to Hogwarts quickly. It is possible that Voldemort has done something to them."

Remus nodded and along with Albus levitated the bodies of his two friends. Thomas was cradled in his arms by the time Sirius arrived in the study along with Alastor and Sturgis. "Oh thank Merlin, they're alive." Then he frowned when he realized that someone was missing. "Wait Remus, where's Harry? Have you found him yet?"

Absently Remus shook his head. Like Lily, he had never really paid much attention to Harry. Thomas was more important in his mind.

Albus too looked around but was unconcerned as long as he had the Chosen One. "Sirius I fear that Harry was most likely killed in the magical explosion that Thomas was responsible for. You should be happy that Voldemort is banished. Thomas is going to need your support now, forget about Harry."

"I'm not leaving here until I find him." Sirius said stubbornly and left to search the rest of the home.

"Come, we can't waste any more time here." Albus ordered everyone back to Hogwarts, leaving Sirius alone to search for Harry.

**October 31****st****, 1981, Torchwood 3, Cardiff**

By the time they arrived back at Torchwood both Diana and Michael were pale. Jack had been pushing the van to its max speed at over 250 kph. It was only thanks to a few special enhancements that enabled them to drive that fast. The time of night was the other reason that Jack could push their speed so high; there was virtually no other traffic on the road.

Michael waved both Diana and Jack away when they moved to take the boy out of the van. "Go inside and make sure Anna has everything setup. I want to know if there is any residual damage from the incident." During the brief trip, Michael had been caring for the boy as much as possible. For some reason he reminded him of John his own son, with his messy black hair.

Jack was going to protest before deciding it wasn't worth the battle. He shared a brief look with Diana before they both shrugged and went inside. 



Diana was a little surprised by Michael's attitude. He was normally unaffected by their cases but something about this one had gotten under his skin. It was best to leave it alone for now and make sure it didn't become a problem down the line.

Holding Harry carefully in his arms, Michael made his way swiftly from the garage to the med-bay. His long black trench coat was flaring behind him as he moved. The heavy steel door slid open as he approached. Inside the med-bay was brightly lit, the pristine white walls reflecting a portion of the light back. There were a pair of gurneys in the room and a host of medical apparatus arrayed around them.

"Michael, place the child on bed 1. I will begin the tests." Anna said briskly. Her normal outfit now covered by a white lab coat. 

Reluctantly Michael did so. However, he refused to take more than a step or two from Harry's side. Anna decided to avoid a confrontation and as much as possible moved around Michael. The only time she forced him to move away was when she took an x-ray of Harry to make sure he had no broken bones. While she was running her tests, Jack walked in and began to observe. 

Michael was waiting patiently but Jack was growing frustrated and was shifting his weight from side to side. Nervous energy was making him jittery. Something was wrong, he knew it. Anna was too quiet and running too many tests for everything to be ok and why hadn't the boy woken up yet? All this and more was running through Jack's mind when Anna brought him back to reality.

"I'm sorry Michael, Jack, but I think the boy is dying." Anna was nothing if not direct and her blunt assessment of Harry's condition shocked everyone in the room.

"What? Why? There's nothing visibly wrong with him." Jack protested strongly. This couldn't be happening. He sympathized with the boy, felt like he had found a kindred spirit of sorts. And now…now Anna was saying that the boy was going to die. No! He wouldn't let it happen. Somehow he would save the boy.

Anna looked sad herself. It was hard to detach yourself from the death of a young child. It didn't matter how many dead bodies she had seen, they had always been adults but this was different. He was a child, an innocent. He hadn't had a chance to live yet. "No, he isn't hurt physically. But, whatever happened at that house left its mark. His body is saturated with necrotic energy. For some reason it is centered on the cut on his forehead." She finished pointing to the strange lightning bolt shaped cut marring the otherwise flawless skin.

Diana had lost a child to illness herself and she had no intention of losing another one, even if the boy wasn't hers. "Isn't there something you can do to siphon them off or purge them somehow? I mean what the hell is all this technology good for if we can't even save one little boy?" She finished gesturing to everything around them.

Anna was already shaking her head "There are a few things we could try but he is so young they would kill him. I'm afraid there's nothing I can do."

Necrotic energy…necrotic energy…the power of death. The phrases kept running through Jack's mind over and over again. When the answer came to him, he wanted to kick himself for not realizing it immediately. 

When he had been traveling with the Doctor, he had died when fighting the Daleks. Something, he still didn't know what, had brought him back to life. Most people would thank whatever god they worshipped and move one but Jack soon found that this particular gift was a curse. He didn't age and he couldn't die. Fatal injuries took only moments to heal, the worse the injury the longer it took but he always came back. As he thought of it, he had a surplus of life energy flowing in him that kept him from dying. Maybe at some point in the future, it would be expended but for now, he was immortal.

If the boy was dying from the necrotic energies that had saturated his body then maybe an infusion of his own life energy would be enough to counteract it. Unfortunately there was only one way he could think of to do that and he didn't want to expose his secret. Anna knew of course as his second in command but Michael and Diana were still in the dark.

Letting his shoulders slump in defeat, Jack pulled over a stool and sank down onto it. "Diana, Michael go home. It's been a long night. I will stay here with the boy in case something happens." After seeing the looks of protest, Jack added "Please I just want to be alone for a while. You can visit him in the morning."

The two had worked with Jack long enough to know when his mind was made up. So after saying goodnight, they both left. Anna was getting ready to leave as well but Jack stopped her. "Anna, would there be any harm in transfusing the boy with my blood?"

To say Anna was surprised would be an understatement. This whole sequence of events since Jack had found the boy was mystifying to her. Normally her friend held everyone at arm's length. She had never seen him get involved with someone, let alone a child. "Ok Jack what's going on? Why did you send the others away?"

"Just answer the question first?" Jack asked doggedly.

Anna leaned against a table covered with various pieces of equipment. "Well, given that your unique condition makes you a universal donor, no there would be no harm. What would be the point though? He is not anemic or in shock?" 

"You said it yourself; the necrotic energies are slowly killing him. We know that for lack of a better explanation I have surplus of life. I'm hoping that by transfusing some of my blood that will counteract the necrotic energies."

Anna closed her eyes and gave the matter some thought. "It might work, assuming your theory is correct. But before I agree to this I have two questions you have to answer. Why do you care and if the boy survives what will happen to him?"

Jack stood and began to pace back and forth. 

Anna noticed than even pacing he never moved more than a pace or two away from the boy. "Ok Jack, what's up? Why do you care what happens to this boy?"

Never stopping, Jack looked up at Anna and she almost took a step back, surprised at the raw anguish and wanting that was written all over his face. "Anna…" He began softly. 

"The truth Jack or I won't help." She said sternly and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Her tone finally forced Jack to stop his pacing. "Anna, he can't die. I don't know I just…He's the same as me. All alone, there's no way that someone could have survived in that home. Someone has to fight for him; someone has to help him…" His voice dropped to whisper "The way no one could help me."

Anna heard him though and frowned. "What's going to happen to him if this does work? We can't put out an advert asking if someone is missing a boy. Whatever attacked that home may come back if they know the boy survived."

Jack moved back to the stool and sat down again. Anna was no longer surprised when she saw Jack run his hand through the boy's hair. "I know. In truth, I don't know what will happen to him. If this were a different situation, I may consider adopting him myself but he would always take a backseat to Torchwood and that wouldn't be fair to him." 

"Well, I suppose he could always go to an orphanage, it's not like he could give away any secrets. Regardless though, we don't even know if this will work and if it does it may take multiple treatments." 

Jack was getting frustrated now. "Look, I know this may not work but the longer we sit here and debate the matter, the more likely it is that he will die." Trying to calm himself, Jack took a deep breath and sat down "So can we just do this thing? Or are you going to talk long enough so that he dies?"

Shock and hurt fought for dominance on Anna's face, hurt finally winning. She held up her hands in surrender "All right, all right we'll try it. I just wanted to make sure you knew what you getting into."

It didn't take her long to setup the transfusion. Jack was sitting next to the unconscious boy, a clear tube running from his arm to the boys. Slowly Jack's blood filled the tube and made its way into the boy. After what she deemed was long enough, she unhooked both of them. "All we can do now is wait."

**October 31****st****, 1981, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry**

Sirius Black didn't make it to Hogwarts for a few hours. All that time had been spent combing the ruins and surrounding land for any sign of Harry. There was nothing. No signs that he had been taken, no spell traces, and worst of all no body.

By the time he made it up to the infirmary in Hogwarts, he was exhausted and there were dark circles under his eyes. He assumed that given the events of the night, Poppy Pomfrey, the school nurse would not let any of the Potters out of her sight for at least one night, if not more.

When he walked in, it was to find James talking heatedly with Dumbledore. "James you must focus on Thomas. He is the Chosen One."

Whatever James was going to say was lost when Sirius closed the door to the infirmary, attracting the attention of Albus, Lily and James. Sirius took a moment to note that Lily was holding a sleeping Thomas who appeared to be unhurt. He was happy that at least one of his godsons had escaped unharmed.



James took in the sight of Sirius' haggard and downcast face and the fact that he didn't have Harry with him. Sagging back into his pillow "Did you at least find his body Padfoot?" James asked softly.

Sirius hopped onto an empty bed and shook his head. "I'm sorry mate. There was no sign of him anywhere. I didn't get any traces of portkeys or magic either." 

Lily turned to address James from her bed. "See James, I told you he was probably killed by the backlash of Thomas banishing You-Know-Who. It is regrettable but there's nothing we can do about it." She said all this like she was explaining how to make a potion or cast a spell. There was no remorse or sadness in her voice whatsoever. In fact, as soon as she was finished speaking she turned her attention back to Thomas.

"Lily is right James. As I said Thomas is the Chosen One. He will need you more than ever now."

"I don't believe you, either of you. Our son may be dead and you Lily, say it is regrettable?! What in god's name is that? Harry is our flesh and blood, our son, not some piece of garbage to just be discarded." James was turning red. He wanted to yell and scream at the world but he was trying to keep from exploding.

Sirius saw all this and knew James was struggling. "Come on mate, I'm sure she didn't mean it like that." He didn't really believe his own words; he had seen the way that Lily ignored Harry and it saddened him to say that her attitude now didn't surprise him.

"James, it's better this way. Harry would have just gotten in the way. Thomas is going to need training and he will have all sorts of obligations to fulfill in our world. Now we don't need to worry about Harry at all."

Albus remained silent, watching as the two Potters argued. Lily was doing an admirable job of pushing James away even though she surely didn't understand what she was doing. Of the two, Lily had always looked to him as a mentor and guide in the wizarding world far more than James ever had. If she kept pushing, it was very possible that James would leave which would make it much easier to ensure that Thomas was raised believing in Albus' way of thinking about the future of their world. As tempting as it was to try and prod things along, he knew he was better off leaving them to battle it out. Nothing would end tonight, but the seeds were being planted.

"I honestly don't know who you are anymore. You're certainly not the woman I married. That woman would never have ignored one of her sons, regardless of the circumstances. I know she wouldn't have called the disappearance or death of her son regrettable."

Sirius jumped in. He didn't want things to escalate further. Both his friends had tempers and were liable to say something they would regret if they weren't stopped now. "Hey now, tempers are running a little high. Nothing is going to happen tonight and we need to start making arrangements for Harry. But all of that can wait until the morning."

James looked like he wanted to protest before he gave in. "Fine!" He rolled over with his back to Lily not wanting to look at her right now. Away from the prying eyes of his family, James let his tears for his lost son fall. "I'm sorry Harry, I'm so sorry. If you're out there, I swear I will find you someday."

**November 1****st****, 1981, Torchwood 3, Cardiff**

It had been a long sleepless night for Jack. Anna had left about an hour after the transfusion was completed once she was sure that Jack wasn't going to pass out. She wouldn't have left the boy alone but she knew that Jack was not going anywhere; it would take the rift opening in the middle of the facility itself to get him to move right now.

In the middle of the night Harry woke and started to cry. There was no thought or hesitation on Jack's part. He picked Harry up and rocked him gently in his arms until Harry calmed down and fell into a natural sleep. Jack hoped that it was a sign that the transfusion was working.

After Harry was asleep again, Jack retrieved a more comfortable chair from Anna's work station. He settled into the soft chair and leaned his head back letting his eyes close for a moment. But his anxiety over Harry kept him from falling asleep. The need for a physical connection was strong enough that Jack decided to just hold Harry for a while, letting him sleep in his arms.

To his eternal embarrassment, Jack's team found him the next day in the same position. He was leaning back in the chair dozing. Harry was asleep on his chest, held securely in Jack's arms. They both slept on oblivious to the fact that he was being watched by his teammates. 

The flash of light in the dimly room was enough to startle Jack from his sleep. In the process, Jack jostled Harry awake. But his cries were weak and he seemed to move lethargically. "Anna?" Jack asked nervously.

Anna saw it too. She was happy that the boy was awake but something was still wrong with him. "Jack please put him back on the gurney so I can run the tests again." At least this time, there were only a few tests that she would need to run, since some things wouldn't have changed from a few hours ago.

Michael and Diana were concerned as well but not just about the boy. They were worried about Jack. He seemed so attached to the boy. Neither was sure what would happen if the boy died. For now there was nothing they could do but stand and watch as Jack returned the boy to the gurney and Anna began her scans.

"You should have seen it Anna, he woke up briefly just after you left. He has the most amazing green eyes. I've never seen such a pure intense shade before." 

Anna just nodded her head absent mindedly while going over the results of the scans. She was pleased; the effects of the transfusion were promising but not quite enough. "Jack, I'd like to do another transfusion."

Diana stepped forward "Transfusion? What? Why would that help?"

Anna looked to Jack, not sure how to answer without giving away Jack's secret.

"It's ok Anna; they have a right to know." Anna wasn't sure where Jack was going with this. His secret was always at the front of his mind and it was a little surprising that he would be willing to share it now. So she was going to let him take the lead.



Michael was more than a little upset. Torchwood was all about secrets, but they weren't supposed to be keeping secrets from each other. "What?! What do we have a right to know?"

Jack put on a show for Diana and Michael, acting repentant and somewhat defeated. "It was a few years ago before you two joined up. We were experimenting on an alien device that had washed up through the rift."

Anna saw what Jack was doing and agreed that it was probably for the best. His apparent immortality would raise too many red flags, especially within Torchwood. It was only safe for the leaders to know and if Jack could be believed, the queen herself. She added her spin to it because it would also let Jack know she knew what he was doing. "There was an accident, it destroyed the device."

"What does that have to do with Jack?" Michael demanded.

Jack glared at the younger man for a moment. "I was the one running the experiment. We hadn't learned much about the device, only that it was some sort of medical diagnostic or healing device." He paused for a moment, unsure where to take the story or describe its effects on him. Thankfully Anna picked up the slack.

"Jack was unhurt by the explosion but something about the energy powering the device changed him. He became something of a universal donor and his natural regenerative abilities were greatly enhanced."

"What does that mean exactly?" Diana asked, probing for more information. She had an idea what they were saying but she wanted confirmation.

"It means that I heal from most wounds in minutes."

"Is that why you're never sick?" Michael asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. He was still upset that they kept this secret, but part of him could understand the reason. Given the nature of their work, it would've been hard not to be a little suspicious of such an accident. "Does anyone else know?"

"Yeah, I haven't gotten a cold once since it happened. To answer your second question, yes the higher ups are aware of my condition. Everyone felt it was best to keep it quiet. With what we do, it was felt that too many people might get the wrong idea."

Diana nodded reluctantly, she could understand that logic. It was true a lot of the Torchwood personnel would not trust Jack if they knew about the changes from the accident. "Ok, I guess I can understand that. But that doesn't explain the transfusion."

The light bulb went off in Michael's mind. "Yes it does." He turned his attention to Anna "You said that the boy was saturated with necrotic energy right? Basically it was all the energy or magic or whatever the hell you want to call it associated with death."

Anna and Jack both nodded. Jack remained silent more than willing to let Michael come up with the explanation and ignore any inconsistencies with his story. Plus, it was evident that Michael understood the reasons behind the transfusion.



"So you're betting that whatever that device did to you that amped up your body's natural healing can be transmitted through your blood. You're hoping that somehow it will purge the kid's body."

Diana was looking from Michael back to Jack and Anna. "Is that possible? Can you save him with a transfusion?"

Anna finally felt like the ground under her feet was firming up again. Diana's question and Michael's suppositions put her back in the driver's seat, able to control the conversation. "Yeah, it was Jack's idea actually. We already did a transfusion last night after you left and I must say, I'm very happy with the results. According the scans, most of the energy has been purged but there is still enough there to kill him in a few days time. That's why I want to try another transfusion."

Jack needed no prompting. He quickly scooted the chair close to the gurney and held out his arm. Anna wasted no time in setting up the equipment necessary and once again watched as blood from Jack slowly made its way through the clear plastic tubing into the boy.

"If this works, what's going to happen to him?" Diana asked, her maternal instincts coming out. Like Jack, she had moved to stand next to child. Gently she ran her fingers over his face.

Anna smirked at Jack. This would be fun. "Diana raises an important question Jack. If this does work, I would like to make sure that he is available for tests."

He glared at Anna for a second before sitting up straighter in the chair. He had been hoping to avoid this discussion until he had come up with some sort of plan. "I don't know. I suppose he can give him to a local orphanage once we are sure that he will be ok."

Michael had a thought about that. The previous night, he had talked with Maggie, his wife, about the boy. John, their son, had been asking when he was getting a brother for quite a while now but Maggie wasn't able to have any more children as a result of complications during John's birth. "Maggie and I can take him in. But…" He stopped for a second to glare pointedly at both Jack and Anna. "If we do this, he will be ours. We make the decisions regarding his well being and I'm going to want something from the queen herself on this."

"Michael…"

"No Jack. I've seen it happen before in the States. He's a little boy and he will be part of my family. This is permanent; I'm not relinquishing control just because Torchwood later decides he might be interesting!" He finished forcefully.

"Michael…" Jack tried again.

"No there's no negotiating here. Either you do this my way or find some other solution."

"Michael, I agree. The kid doesn't need to be some test subject in the future. The bit with the queen though…" Jack said congenially. When he saw the look on Michael's face he gave in. "Fine, I will see if I can call in some favors."



Michael nodded in satisfaction. "Good, then with that out of the way, I will just go have a word with Maggie."

"Ok that's enough guys. You can work out the details later but right now I need you to leave the med-bay. All this noise and tension isn't doing my patient any good."

Jack was stuck there until the transfusion finished and Anna was insistent that he remain and rest afterwards. A few hours later, Jack called for Anna over the comm. "Anna, come to the med-bay. There's something wrong with the boy."

Pushing up from her desk, she quickly made her way across the catwalks and down the stairs to the med-bay. "What is it Jack? What's wrong?"

"It's the boy. It looks like he's in pain." 

Anna smiled at him for a moment and then she saw what Jack was talking about. The boy was still unconscious but he seemed to writhing in pain. It was heart breaking to hear his little whimpers of pain. She repeated her tests from earlier to see if there had been a setback. "The good news is that the necrotic energy has been completely purged from his body, even his scar which had the highest concentration."

"Then what's going on?" asked Jack.

"Jack, can you hold him steady? I want to check his pupil responsiveness." Jack moved silently, gently holding the boy's head in place while Anna pull an eyelid open and flashed the penlight. She was pleased to note that the pupil contracted quickly but something else was off. "Jack, I thought you said he had green eyes?"

"He does why?"

Anna checked his other eye and found the same thing. "Because now they are a mix of light blue and green. If I didn't know better, I'd say he had your eyes."

Jack moved around so he could get a better look. He couldn't stop his gasp. "But how…I've given blood before and nothing like this has ever happened." When Anna moved away, Jack scooped the boy into his arms attempting to soothe him.

"I'll want to run some more tests when he is better but…well…I have some ideas but I don't want to say until I get the results of the test back."

Jack looked like he was about to protest but he had worked with Anna long enough to know that he wouldn't be able to get anything out of her before she was ready. "Fine, just let me know when you come up with something."

Much to Jack's annoyance, Anna locked down her computer in the med-bay so he couldn't sneak a look at the test results before she was ready. So he was stuck waiting in there for close to four hours. During that time, he barely left the boy's side, whenever he would cry out or whimper in pain, Jack was there to hold him and provide what comfort he could.

Anna finally walked in when Jack was getting ready to leave the room and threaten her with physical violence if she didn't tell him something. "There are times when I really appreciate working at Torchwood. We never would have been able to understand what was going on with him otherwise, at least not for several weeks at a minimum."

"As much as I appreciate the sentiment, I would rather get some actual information." Jack all but growled.

"Ok, ok you know I open up to you, share a few of my personal feelings and this is the reception I get." Seeing the look on Jack's face, she decided that maybe joking around wasn't the best approach to take at the moment. 

"So, you want to know about him. Well it appears that whatever had happened to him to infect him with the necrotic energy had damaged his DNA in a manner similar to radiation poisoning. It is possible that he could have survived but it would have been unlikely. Even if he had survived there probably would have been physical changes. I doubt his body would have ever reached its full potential physically."

"And what about now? Why did his eyes change color? Is that another symptom of the damage?"

"That's just it, the damage is being repaired. Presumably, the boy is a wizard given the event and the location so I don't know if this is his magic's doing but I have a feeling it is more than that. Since your blood has such unique properties, I think it is somehow working with his magic and repairing that damage using your DNA as a template. If I'm right, in essence you will be like a third biological parent to him. I won't know for sure until I can do a DNA comparison once the process is complete."

There was a part of Jack that was thrilled. If something should ever happen to him, there would still be a legacy passed on. "But why is he in pain?"

Anna shrugged "I don't know Jack but the basic building blocks of his body are changing. That can't be pleasant. I would give him something, but I don't know how he would react. Unfortunately, he's just going to have to wait it out."

"Jack why don't you go take a nap or something. I'll watch him for a while and you look like you need a break."

A nap wasn't in the plans for Jack though. As soon he left the med-bay he was peppered with questions from Diana and Michael. Even though he didn't want to talk about it, he repeated the explanation given to him by Anna. 

Michael patted Jack on the back while grinning. "I suppose this means that you will be an uncle, poor kid." His grin was more than enough to take any sting out of the statement. "You know most guys prefer to father kids naturally."

A little surprised by the turnaround from earlier Jack welcomed the joke and stage whispered to Michael so that Diana could hear him clearly as well "Yeah, but at least this way I didn't have to deal with a hormonal pregnant woman."

One of Diana's eyebrows arched dangerously and she warned both men in a severe voice "I will pretend I didn't hear that. We don't want to make the boy an orphan twice over now do we?" 

"Oh, Diana you know I love you." Jack said, honey dripping from his voice. His eyes always gave him away though. He couldn't stop the sparkle that always seemed to fill them whenever he was trying to sweet talk her.

"What are you doing out here anyway? Did Anna finally run you off?" She asked completely ignoring his previous statement.

Jack started to walk towards his office again. His heavy footsteps echoing softly off the cavernous walls as he climbed the metal stairs. "Yeah, something about needed a nap, but how can I sleep knowing that he is in pain?"

"Than what are you doing?" Asked Michael.

"I'm going to make a few phone calls. I'll call in a few favors and make sure there are no problems with you adopting him." There was a steely tone in his voice that told everyone that come hell or high water, Michael would be leaving with that boy. "Have you given any thought to a name for him? I'm getting tired of calling him 'the boy.'"

"Yes we have. Maggie always liked 'Jason.' She is thrilled to get a chance to use it." Michael finished cheerfully.

Jack nodded in approval but didn't say anything. If circumstances were different, he would adopt Jason himself, but there were responsibilities that he could not forego.

Diana knew Jack better than Michael did and she put a hand on his shoulder to forestall any more questions. "Do you need any help?"

Jack shook his head and closed the door to his office behind. He wanted to do this alone. If he couldn't be Jason's dad the least he could do is make sure that Michael could be.

**July 31****st****, 1986, Godric's Hollow**

The birthday celebration for Thomas Potter, the Bow-Who-Lived was an event trumpeted across the British Wizarding World. It was a circus at the Potter home, dozens and dozens of witches and wizards were in attendance, celebrating not just the birthday of their boy savior but the defeat of You-Know-Who. There would have been hundreds had not James put a stop to it, ostensibly in the name of security.

James and Sirius were avoiding the party as much as possible. In the five years since the attack, James and by extension Sirius had grown more distant from not just Lily but Thomas as well. At first, he was grieving the loss of Harry. The Ministry had set aside a small team of Aurors to search for any signs of kidnapping or at least his body but after 3 weeks, the search was called off when there were no leads.

James and Sirius had been devastated. That was when the separation started from Lily and Albus. Lily, Remus and Albus had been unconcerned with Harry's death. 

The break with Remus was more dramatic. James had been getting the funeral for Harry together when Remus approached him. Never one to be bashful or shy away from an issue, Remus plunged right in "James, I think you should reconsider the funeral for Harry."

"Why, have you found something?" James asked, hope creeping into his voice.

Remus had the grace to at least look a little apologetic "No, no I'm sure he's dead. It's just I don't think it would send the right message to the wizarding world."

"Message, what the hell are you talking Remus? This has nothing to do with the wizarding world." 

Remus was tempted to just shut up and leave well enough alone but he decided that this was too important. "James, think about it. What is the wizarding world going to think if they find out that their savior couldn't save his own brother? It would destroy everyone's confidence in him."

James had heard this argument before from Albus but he never thought one of his best friends would parrot it back to him. "Remus, the wizarding world can go to hell for all I care. Harry deserves a funeral and I don't care what kind of message it sends." 

The werewolf's eyes flashed amber for just a second in frustration. "James, Harry is gone. It is for the greater good that you just let him fade away. What harm does it do?"

He just couldn't believe it. This was a man that he had stood beside for years despite the fact that he was a werewolf. When most wizards would have turned away, James had stayed and done everything he could to make Remus' life easier and less lonely. Now, to have him spout this crap, he felt betrayed. "You know what, fuck you Lupin! If you're so concerned about the greater good than what the fuck are you doing here?! You're a danger to everyone. Who knows who you could infect? So why don't you go off and live in isolation I mean it would be for the greater good after all."

Things just degenerated from there. Since that day the two former friends hadn't said two words to each other.

Now James and Sirius were standing in the empty room that used to be Harry's bedroom. "Just look at them out there Padfoot. I never wanted this for my children." They could see Lily fawning over Thomas, obliging his every whim and lapping up the attention as the mother of the Boy-Who-Lived. "She's ruining him and nothing I've done can stop it."

"I'm sorry Prongs. I really wish things were different and I know it's awful but I wish it had been Longbottom and not Thomas." 

James just nodded because he had wished the same thing many times. Unfortunately, wishing didn't make things better; it just made him more bitter about the whole situation. "Ever since we heard that damned prophecy, Lily has been different. She really isn't the woman I married."

"What can you do? You would be vilified if you divorced her. She and Dumbledore would spin it as some sort of attack against the Boy-Who-Lived."



"I know it's wrong but I find myself pulling away from Thomas more and more. He's becoming the type of person that I always hated when I was growing up and Lily does nothing but encourage it. I can't help but wonder what Harry would have been like if he had a chance to grow up." James' voice broke at the end. It had been five years but it still hurt every day.

Albus looked up from where he was seated at a long table laden with birthday presents. He saw James and Sirius standing in a window on the second floor. It was amazing how foolishly the two were behaving. It was close to 5 years since Harry had been killed and still the two men refused to celebrate the events of that Halloween night. Privately, he agreed that the fuss made by the Wizarding World was somewhat silly given that their savior had no memory of that night and could not consciously replicate what took place. If it wasn't necessary for Thomas to be his protégé he would have taken the boy down a few pegs, but the adoration would serve him well as he grew older. Voldemort had never understood that point. He never could fathom how powerful such faith and loyalty could be when wielded by the right person.

If James and Lily had been any other couple within the Order of the Phoenix, Albus might have stepped in to help them mend their relationship. This way was so much better though. By distancing himself from not just Lily, but Thomas as well James had effectively caused the wizarding world to turn their backs on him. Now, he would never have the blind trust that could have come with his position as the boy's father. It made it all that much easier for Albus to step in as the wise benefactor looking out for a hero shunned by his own father.

"Grandpa Albus, where's my present?" Thomas half asked, half demanded. All around him presents were piled high. There were toys of all types, clothes, multiple broomsticks, everything and more that a boy could ever want and much more than a boy could ever need.

Wordlessly, Albus produced his present, wrapped in bright purple and silver paper. Thomas ripped into like it was the first present ever received only to toss it onto the stack with everything else when he saw it was just a book. Albus wanted to gnash his teeth but held his tongue. The book was a series of lessons in leading people couched in the form of fairy tales. His own parents had given him the same book when he was a young boy and the affect it had on him was profound.

Lily frowned at Thomas' behavior finally. It was one thing to treat the other witches and wizards that way because in truth, they were beneath him. They should be grateful for any attention her son might give them, but Albus Dumbledore was not to be treated that way. He was a great man and could help make sure that Thomas accomplished even greater things when he was grown up. "Thomas apologize to your grandpa. It was a very thoughtful gift." 

Thomas looked like he was going to argue or whine. It usually worked when he wanted to get his way but at 7 years of age, he knew when his mother wouldn't be moved. So he grudgingly apologized. "Fine thanks for the book."

Albus smiled and ruffled the boy's dark hair. "Think nothing of it my boy. Books were never my favorite present at your age either."

Things went back to normal after that with Thomas preening under the attention of the gathered witches and wizards. He never even noticed that his father and god father weren't there. In addition to 

Albus, their absence was only noted by Lily and Remus. Lily simply didn't care if her husband was there and Remus was annoyed that they continued to waste their time on the memory of Harry.

**July 31****st****, 1986, London**

Michael and Maggie were sleeping peacefully in their bed. Despite the fact that it was summer, they were snuggled under a thick blanket. Their peaceful slumber was rudely disturbed by an energetic almost 7 year old boy leaping onto the bed.

Since they didn't know when Jason's birthday was, they decided to use October 31st because it was the day they decided that Jason would become a Sheppard. A couple of years after adopting Jason, Michael was transferred to Torchwood 1 in London. Despite the change they still kept in touch with Jack and true to his earlier prediction, Jason considered Jack to be something of an uncle.

John, their other son, had immediately jumped into the role of big brother. In his mind, adopting Jason was the best because he didn't have to wait 9 months for him to be born. As Jason got older, he began to follow John around like a little puppy. Thankfully, John lapped it up and soon enough Jason was a fixture whenever he was doing something with his friends.

John had quickly made friends with the other Americans that were part of Torchwood or simply expatriates living in the area after his dad transferred to London. One of the results of this was the prevalence of American sports, primarily baseball. Jason in particular seemed to excel at the sport. 

The only downside for Jason and John playing baseball was that while the UK had an existing program in baseball, it was nowhere near as prevalent as in the US. Although Jason loved playing baseball, he was also a big fan of going with his dad to Torchwood. 

John on the other hand was looking at colleges. In a move that had taken his parents by surprise, his #1 choice was the Air force Academy in Colorado. Maggie wasn't happy that he would go so far away and Michael was a little disappointed that he wouldn't follow his example and join Torchwood. But John loved to fly and there wasn't really an opportunity to do any flying in Torchwood.

"Dad wake up!" Jason shook his dad's arm. "You promised we could go into Torchwood today." 

Michael groaned and buried his face further into his pillow trying in a vain attempt to drown out the voice of his son. But it was not meant to be when Jason kept shaking him. Without warning, Michael's arm shot out and grabbed Jason around the waist. Effortlessly, he lifted the boy up even as he swung his own body into a sitting position. "Arghh you're a little monster. You know what we do with monsters don't you?"

"You have no one to blame but yourself. You wanted to adopt him." His wife called out once Michael was forced out of the bed.

Jason screamed and laughed as his dad swung him over his shoulder. He beat his hands against Michael's back trying to get down. "No, dad don't. I'm sorry. I forgot."

"That's what you said last time." Michael carried Jason into the bathroom and turned the shower on, cold water only of course. "I think it's time for my little monster to learn his lesson."



Before he could protest or squirm his way out of his dad's grasp, Jason was shoved under the ice cold spray of water. In the seconds before Jason got out of the shower, he was drenched with ice cold water. His dad was laughing at his shocked expression but Jason got his revenge by jumping onto him and soaking Michael's t-shirt and sweatpants with water too.

The water did nothing to dampen Michael's good mood. Michael simply grabbed a towel with one hand and began toweling them both off. "So what do you want for breakfast today little man?"

"Can we have pancakes?" Jason's eyes lighting up with hope.

Michael smiled down at him. "Of course as long you promise not to jump on our bed again, at least while I'm in it." Whispering so his wife wouldn't hear he added "Now if it's just your mother, than you have my permission."

"I promise…I promise." Michael shook his head and scooped Jason into a fireman's carry again. This time he brought him into the kitchen before setting him down.

"Ok you set the table and I will make us some pancakes." While he was cooking, Michael watched Jason set the table and pour two glasses of orange juice. There were times that he was so proud of both John and Jason, he didn't know what he would do if something ever happened to either of his children. 

If Michael had one fault when it came to Jason, it was that he could be a bit overprotective. Both he and Maggie couldn't help but think it was a reflection of how they came to adopt him. It was nothing too extreme but he ended up worrying more about Jason than was absolutely necessary even if it didn't stop him from letting Jason experience everything the world had to offer.

While they were eating breakfast, Michael looked over at Jason and asked "Are you sure want to go to the office? Wouldn't you rather play baseball?" Michael felt it was his duty as an American in the UK to support both his sons' love for their national pastime. Jason was a little young for it still but they did play catch a lot and Michael admitted to himself that he might be a little biased but Jason had a heck of a throwing arm.

"Daaad! You promised and I have practice tomorrow anyway." Jason tried to look assertive but it was wasted on his father who thought he looked adorable and couldn't resist ruffling his hair.

"Who am I to argue? You can meet Jessie; she's heard lots about you." Privately, Michael hoped that Jason would join him at Torchwood when he was old enough but he would never push him into it. Just like he was doing with John, it was up to his sons to decide what they would do with their lives. It didn't stop him from cheating a little now and then. Hence the occasional visits to Torchwood. That was part of the reason why he made sure that Jason played sports too. Even if he wasn't any good, he wanted Jason to have the experience and to make friends and not be stuck with him at Torchwood all the time.

Despite Jason' insistence on going to Torchwood, they did play catch for a while. Michael knew that Jason wanted to do well. He had been playing first base the last couple of games and really liked the position. Not that he would ever say anything but the games weren't very exciting to watch yet. The kids were just too young really but this was Jason' second year so at least the coaches would pitch the ball. Next year would be the first year that the kids would pitch and Michael was looking forward to that.

It was close to lunch by the time they finally arrived at the power plant office that served as the front entrance to the facility. Jason bounded inside, running around the front desk when he saw his aunt Diana. "Aunt Diana!" He protested when he was wrapped up in a hug, squirming around until he could escape her grasp.

Diana had decided that she was getting too old for active field work so now she was a logistics agent. Unfortunately, she couldn't stay at the Cardiff branch because there wasn't an opening so shortly after Michael; she had transferred to London as well. She arranged for flights, equipments, or to clean up messes. It was her job to make someone's death look natural when the cause was something alien. The job was a little gruesome at times but overall much less stressful than before.

"What's the little monster doing here today instead of enjoying the fine summer day?" 

Jason whipped around to glare accusingly at Michael when Diana used the dreaded nickname "Dad you promised you wouldn't tell anyone!"

Michael just shrugged innocently and walked through the door. "It wasn't me. I deny everything." His laughter was echoing off the walls when Jason raced after him.

Michael had learned early on that it was a bad idea to let Jason run around Torchwood unattended. His son had the most alarming habit of setting off alien devices at the worst possible time. Unfortunately, he was about to get another example of that when Jason raced ahead of him.

When he transferred to London, Michael began spending most of his time in the labs studying alien artifacts. Recently Michael brought in someone new to his section. Her name was Jessie Kelly; she was an expert with computers and had a PHD in physics. Since she was new, she had yet to be introduced to the whirlwind that was Jason Sheppard. If she had she never would have left one of their latest acquisitions on her desk for him to snatch.

Jessie was busily typing away at her workstation when Jason grabbed the small square shaped device from table. He spun to face Michael and held up the device. "Dad what does this one do?"

"Jason no…" But it was already too late.

The device sent out a visible shock wave. Jessie screamed as the wave overloaded her monitor causing the screen to crack and spark. Smoke started leaking out of the monitor from not just Jessie's monitor but all the other monitors within a ten foot radius.

"How many times have I told you not to play around in here?" Michael asked sternly. This time it was funny, but it could easily have been something far more dangerous.

"I'm sorry dad, I forgot." Jason said softly putting the device back on the desk.

"Jason some of the technology in here is very dangerous. What would you have done if someone had been hurt? How do you think I would feel if you had been hurt?"

Jason started to tear up a little. "I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt."

Michael knelt down in front of Jason and looked in him straight in the eye. "I know you didn't but that's why you have to be careful. None of this is a game Jason; I need for you to understand that. Ok?"

Jason nodded. When Michael opened his arms, Jason surged forward wrapping his arms around Michael's chest and burying his head in his shoulder.

Michael picked him up and rubbed his back soothingly when heard Jason whisper "I'm sorry."

Sensing that the atmosphere needed to be lightened a little, Michael turned to Jessie. "Jessie, this is my little monster, Jason. Jason this is Jessie she's a new member on my team."

Jason turned his head to say hi.

Jessie smiled brightly. She remembered what it was like to be a kid around so many gadgets. Her father had always been tinkering with something and on more than one occasion she had done the exact same thing. Of course her father's inventions were not based on alien technology so the effects were less dramatic. "You have an interesting way of introducing yourself."

"I'm sorry."

She just waved off his apology. "Oh don't worry about it, I wanted a new monitor anyway but your dad wouldn't spring for it." In fact it had been the new monitor but Jason didn't need to know that.

"Really?" He asked her suspiciously.

Jessie nodded. "Now why don't you call me Jess, that's what everyone else around calls me?"

Michael mouthed a silent thank you to her over Jason' head. "You feeling better now buddy?"

When Jason nodded, Michael set him back down on the floor but it was clear that he still felt awkward.

Jess sat down in her chair again and asked "So Jason, besides trying out alien devices what else do you like to do?"

Perking up Jason started going on about baseball and his team. 

Michael seeing that Jason was getting over his scare added "Jason I'm going to my office to get some work done. Are you going to be ok here with Jess?" After getting a nod from Jason he added "Remember don't touch anything unless someone tells you it's ok."

Jason put his hands behind his back to show he wouldn't touch anything which made Michael smile. Then his dad started to walk back up the stairs but before he was out of earshot he called out "Don't let the little monster walk all over you."

"Daaad!"

**August 15****th****, 1988, Godric's Hollow**



"That's it! I can't take this anymore!" James yelled at Lily.

"I couldn't agree more! You're an arrogant self-absorbed ass just like you were in school!"

James was packing his things even as he continued yelling at Lily, finally letting his frustration out. "Ha! That's funny, this coming from the woman who gave up her friends because they were beneath her. Hate to tell you this but you're the worst kind of social climber. You and the thing that you turned our son into are nothing but parasites. When was the last time you did something for yourself?"

"Why should I? The wizarding world owes me; I'm the mother of the Boy-Who-Lived."

"Exactly, you're nothing more than a self-aggrandizing bitch using your son as a tool for your own well-being. Hell for all we know Tommy isn't even the Boy-Who-Lived!" James snapped and clicked his trunk shut at the same time.

Lily's voice had risen in pitch as she got angrier. "Oh and who else would it be, that insignificant waste that you still mourn? If Harry was so powerful than how come he died that night and Thomas lived? Why you still care about him, I'll never know." 

"At least I don't fawn over that spoiled brat. Has he shown any accidental magic? Hey, maybe he's a squib? Wouldn't that be something, the great supposed savior of the Wizarding World is a nothing!"

"Get out! Get out of this house! You are a horrible father and I will make sure you don't get custody."

"That's fine with me! I don't want him; you and your pets are welcome to him. Good luck with your life Lily; I wish you all the worst!" Then James disappeared with a pop.

Unbeknownst to Lily, James had bought another place in London to get away from her and Thomas. So it was there that he apparated to. With a tired sigh, he grabbed a lager from the refrigerator and sat down on the sofa feeling drained. It was a little depressing to realize that he wasn't sad about leaving his wife or son. In his eyes both of them had become horrible people and he couldn't be bothered to deal with them anymore.

The only think that kept him sane was his job in the Department of Mysteries and Sirius. Not that his job was terribly exciting, for the most part all he did was investigate magical disturbances. Still it allowed him to travel around the country at least which in the past meant that he was around Lily and Thomas as little as possible. 

Perhaps the bigger reason he liked the Department of Mysteries was because it seemed that most of the employees there put little stock in the Boy-Who-Lived hype. In fact, they were the ones to ask how he knew that Thomas was the one to defeat Voldemort. That was probably the first time he began to wonder if Harry had been responsible for Voldemort's defeat.

After he finished his lager, he started unpacking. Before going to bed, he spent some time putting up mail wards, he fully expected Lily and the press to begin a smear campaign against him and he wasn't really up to dealing with all the inevitable howlers that would result.

**August 15****th****, 1988, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry**



Albus Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk listening to Lily Potter rant about James. He kept a carefully constructed mask on his face, one which conveyed sympathy and concern.

"You say James left you Lily?" Albus asked, growing irritated with her continued screeching.

Lily stopped her ranting and sat heavily in one of the available chairs. She glanced at the upholstery in distaste before answering. "Yes, the bastard abandoned Thomas and me. I don't know who he thinks he's fooling but everyone knows that a boy needs to be with his mother. I will see to it that James never gets custody and if I have my way, he'll never see Thomas again."

Albus leaned forward and called for a house elf to bring them some tea. "I'm very disappointed in James. He never could see the bigger picture the way you could. I had always hoped he would recognize how important he was as a father to Thomas."

"No, he would rather spend all day moaning about Harry. God, I wish he hadn't been born then we would still be a family." She took the cup of tea offered by the house elf without even a glance at the poor creature. "The werewolf is the only one of those three that is worth anything. I never would have guessed it."

Albus agreed with Lily though he wasn't really surprised by Black. The man had never followed rules or taken anything seriously. Still, it wasn't a good idea to let her continue to explore that line of thinking; she mustn't come to depend on anyone other than himself. "With James refusing his responsibilities, I fear it will fall to me to be a mentor to Thomas." 

Lily perked up. There was no other family in the Wizarding World that could claim to have Albus Dumbledore as a mentor for their children. But she couldn't appear to be too needy, even to Albus; she was Thomas' mother after all. "Oh, I wouldn't want to put you out like that Albus. You already have so many responsibilities with running the school and the Wizengamot."

"Nonsense Lily. It would be an honor to work with Thomas; he is such an agreeable boy."

"Well if you're sure." Lily acquiesced. 

**August 15****th****, 1988, London**

It was a sunny day and the temperature was warm but comfortable. There was cheering and clapping coming from the assembled parents as they watched their children play. Nothing stood out as unusual except for a small group off to the side. Michael and Maggie like all the other parents were cheering for their son who was playing 1st base. 

Currently, it was the 4th inning in the game and Jason had just managed to tag out the runner, so there were two outs. His team was winning 5 to 3. At age 9 though, this was the first year that they started keeping records but the games were still only 6 innings long. It was also the second year that the kids pitched the ball. 

Chris, a new member of the Torchwood team was sitting next to Jess, along with Diana. Chris was a medical pathologist and generally an ass. But he was good at his job which was the only reason people put up with his acerbic personality. Against his will, he had been dragged by the rest of the team to 

watch the stupid baseball game. He felt that there were far more valuable be things he could be doing with his time, hell there were more valuable things they all could be doing with their time. 

"So tell me again, why you dragged me out here?" He whispered to Jess. She was attractive and at first he thought she might have a crush on him, but lately she had been rather cool. Mentally shrugging his shoulders at the thought, it was her loss.

Jess just rolled her eyes. It was too bad really, he was fairly good looking but his personality was so abrasive she quickly gave up any ideas of pursuing something with him. "We're here because Jason is playing. Didn't you ever play sports as a kid? Didn't you want people to watch you?"

"Course I did, but I played a proper sport. Football at least makes sense; I don't understand why baseball is so popular with the Yanks. And anyway, why should we all be here? He's Michael's kid, not mine."

"Yeah, well some of us have known him longer than you and happen to like him." The noise from the crowd grew louder again and Jess turned to see Jason rounding second base on his way to third. "I missed it because of you!" She hissed.

"What do I care how the brat plays? I'd be just as happy if he never came around the office too. He's always getting in the way."

"Chris…" Jess said warningly. 

Anything else he might have had to say was lost as Jess ignored him to focus on the remaining innings of the game. 

Afterwards Diana was walking next to Jason going over the game. "You're getting pretty good out there kid. Are you going to stick with it?"

Michael was walking behind them and watching with a smile on his face. It was nice to see how well Jason interacted with the team. Michael was very grateful to Jess and Diana especially. They had known Jason for years now and were practically part of his growing family. That in and of itself was a shocking thought; something he had never expected but welcomed none the less.

"Heck yeah. Coach Ryan says I'm one of the best players he has and it's a lot of fun." The grin on Jason' face gave truth to his words.

Michael clapped Jason on the back. "At least if he's going to be a monster he can do it on the field rather than our office. I don't think we have the budget for another bank of computer monitors."

Jason blushed a brightly. It was evident even with his tanned skin. "Dad you promised not to tell anyone else!"

Michael didn't answer, he just stole Jason' hat and jogged towards the car. "Dad! Give me my hat back!" He cried as he chased after his dad.



Maggie trailed after them shaking her head and laughing at their antics. It was times like these that she missed John the most. He had been accepted into the Air Force Academy and had just finished up his first year. Both she and Michael had been extremely proud that he had made it in because it was extremely difficult. 

Jason had probably been the saddest to see him go. Despite their age difference John always made an effort to include Jason as much as possible. For all that there was 11 years between them, they were very close. John's departure was made worse by the hero worship that Jason had started to develop for John. But like all kids his age, Jason was resilient and used John's departure as a motivation for excelling in sports and school.

Jess laughed. "Why can't we get away with destroying equipment?"

"Hopefully the brat keeps up with his baseball then, since he's too stupid to keep his hands to himself." Chris half muttered the insult, not really caring if either Diana or Jess heard him.

"Fuck off Chris. Jason gets all 'As' and 'Bs' and for your information he was 7 years old when he blew up the monitors." Jess argued.

"A kid doesn't have any right being in Torchwood anyway. I'm surprised they let Michael get away with it."

"Lay off man, Jason is a good kid."

Diana just stayed out of it. She knew Chris would never be convinced.

**Summer, 1991, USA**

It had been a busy summer for the Sheppard family. John had graduated from the Academy back in June and had received his commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Air Force. To everyone's surprise, including his own, his first posting was to be to the 48th Fighter Wing operating out of RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk. It was an extremely prestigious posting, especially for someone just out of the Academy. 

The family had flown back to the US to watch John graduate and to help him pack. Maggie looked around his room and noted that one thing being in the Academy had certainly done was to break him of his pack rat nature. There were very few personal items to pack and what few there were mostly consisted of photos of friends or family.

"So does this mean you can come to my games?" Jason asked hopefully after being told where John was stationed.

John, still a good foot taller than Jason, ruffled his hair in response. Laughing when Jason batted his hand away he teased "I don't know. What's the point in watching you sit on the bench?"

"I don't sit on the bench. Dad tell him!" Jason ordered indignantly. "I'm a starter. Unlike you, I have a real position first base. All you ever played was the outfield. That's where they put the guys that can't play."



John didn't bother to hold back his lopsided grin. "Oh is that so? Well that may be but you're still small enough for me to do this." Without warning, John hooked his arm around his little brother's neck and gave him noogie. 

Jason struggled in vain while his parents looked on in thinly veiled amusement. It would still be quite some time before Jason had a chance against John physically.

Relenting after a minute, John let his brother go. "I'm sure I can make at least some of your games. Not sure yet how much freedom I will have. So we'll have to play it by ear ok?"

Trying to mask his disappointment, Jason joked "Yeah, well it's your loss if you can't make it."

"Honey are you all set to go?" Maggie asked. She understood that Jason was disappointed but there wasn't anything John could do about it. It was best to just move on to something else. "We have to leave soon if we are going to make our dinner reservations."

"Yeah mom, just give me a minute to change. I'd prefer to get out of the uniform at least some of the time." John answered while moving into the bathroom to change.

"But you look so dashing in your uniform. I bet all the girls fall for you."

Michael heard a groan come from the bathroom and it was all he could do not to laugh. "Leave him alone Maggie. We both know that Jason is going to be the heart breaker in the family. John's too noble to love 'em and leave 'em." He did laugh when he heard John's groan of protest a second time.

The next day, John was on a plane back to the UK. The rest of the family was spending some time in the US as a vacation. As a surprise, Maggie had enrolled Jason in a week long summer baseball camp near Chicago. While there, they would be staying with some relatives of hers and enjoying the sights while Jason went to camp during the day.

**September 27****th****, 1991, London**

It had been close to a month since the ghosts had first appeared in London and throughout the world. Despite their best efforts, Torchwood was not able to identify the reason for their appearance beyond the link to the mysterious power supply that they were tapping into.

When Torchwood first began tapping the void energy it seemed like it was an unlimited power supply. At first there were no drawbacks or side effects to the power, it was the answer to all of Earth's energy needs. Slowly, over time, ghosts began to appear. They remained indistinct and never took on a defined form beyond a silvery humanoid shape, remaining ambiguous but giving off a feeling of familiarity to those that were near them. People began to associate the ghosts with the spirits of family or friends that had died so the public reaction was very positive.

Strangely, the ghosts only appeared when Torchwood increased the power draw on the void energy. And strangely for a reason no one could understand, the ghosts only appeared in urban areas. Once you were away from the denser populations there were no appearances regardless of how much power was being utilized.



All of that changed on September 25th. The ghosts changed. They took on material form. No longer were they poorly defined spirits. In the place of each ghost was a grey metallic man, standing over 6' tall. There were thousands of them appearing all over the planet, each one looking exactly the same. But perhaps their scariest feature was their eyes, black and soulless.

Any questions about the intentions of these Cybermen were answered shortly after they appeared. Almost immediately after arrival, the Cybermen began rounding people up and bringing them to processing stations where they were 'upgraded' into new Cybermen. Any who resisted were 'deleted.'

Less than a day after the Cybermen first appeared, a second alien race appeared and began to lay waste to everything in their path, human and Cyberman alike. The aliens were squat robotic looking beings with a singly eye and a pair of weapons. Their armor seemed to be immune to all weapons. There was no talking, no option to surrender, they simply killed everything indiscriminately.

The London branch of Torchwood was the epicenter of for both attacks. Most of the members of Torchwood had been cut down or 'upgraded' within the first hours of the Cybermen's invasion. Michael Sheppard was no exception. He had been talking to his wife when she heard his scream through the phone. That was when she knew he wouldn't be coming home again.

Maggie debated over telling Jason about his father. She still hoped after all that maybe he was still alive. But despite that, she knew that Jason would try to do something to save him if he was still alive in Torchwood. True, his magic wasn't usually controllable but he had some minor control when the situation demanded it. This is what frightened her, that he would try to use his magic somehow to get into Torchwood.

In the end, she told him that Michael was dead. It felt like her heart was breaking again to see the light of hope fade from his eyes. Less than two hours later, a group of six Cybermen broke down the front door of their home.

Maggie screamed for Jason to run.

Jason refused. He'd lost his dad to these bastards. They weren't going to kill his mom too. Picturing what he wanted in his mind, he slammed his palms together.

His magic always worked best when he could visualize what he wanted it to do and there was strong emotion to fuel it. Much to his dad's amusement, that was usually when he imitated something he saw in a comic book or in a cartoon.

The house shook and the windows near Jason shattered as waves of blue-green energy radiated from his hands in a concentric circle pattern.

The energy shot forward. Dispersing as it traveled. It washed over the Cybermen, shattering their metallic forms and a portion of the front wall.

The six attackers collapsed to the floor in pieces.

Flying above a trio of the squat aliens detected the strange energy coming from Jason's home.



"Anomalous energy reading detected." One said in a high pitched mechanical voice.

"The source must be exterminated!"

The trio began echoing "Exterminate! Exterminate!"

Even as Maggie was rushing over to Jason torn between wanting to hug him and scold him, explosions tore into the second level of the home. Dust and debris billowed down the stairs.

The three aliens swooped in through the opening they had created. "Anomalous energy reading coming from lower level."

"Exterminate!" 

Jason was just trying to make sense of what was going on. It barely even registered that whatever these things were, they were hovering a foot over the floor and moving towards the stairs.

Maggie pushed Jason back behind her.

"Exterminate!" The high pitched voice called out and the lead alien fired an evil looking green beam.

Maggie never even screamed. Her body was enveloped in by the beam and for a second Jason could see her skeleton. Then she was on the floor.

Blue-green eyes blazed with anger and grief. At that moment, something locked within him broke free. Jason lashed out with everything he had, pouring all of his emotion into one massive burst of magic. Never giving any thought to the amount of power he felt flowing in him.

A twister of magic rose up around Jason. The swirling blue green energy swirled faster and faster while growing in height.

The twister ripped through the ceiling and rose through the remains of the second floor.

The aliens fired their weapons only to have the beams absorbed by the twister.

In seconds they were caught in the edges of the twister and spun around through wood and dry wall. The centrifugal force of their spin ripped their weapons and eyestalks from their bodies.

Still, the twister grew, fed by Jason's raw emotions. In the space of an hour he had lost both his parents and for the first time he wasn't afraid to hurt someone or something with his magic. Despite that, he could only maintain such a display for so long.

As Jason collapsed into unconsciousness, the twister grew wild. It burst from the house and exploded outward. Only Jason was unharmed, at the epicenter of the blast, his untouched body lying in the center of a swath of destruction that ran for three blocks.

Luckily for him, all the others in the neighborhood had already been collected or killed. The only things harmed were the remaining aliens or Cybermen.

**September 28****th****, 1991, Department of Mysteries**

James was sitting in his office resting his head on the desk. Yesterday had been devastating. Out of nowhere, Diagon Alley had been attacked by strange metallic men that seemed to be immune to all but the strongest magic. Even the killing curse had been ineffective against them though it did seem to cause physical damage.

The Unspeakables along with every available Auror had been mobilized to try and stop them. In the end it turned out that shields, a spell any third year could cast was the most effective defense. It certainly didn't harm them, but it stopped their advance. Unfortunately, the lesson was not learned until too many had died.

Then while the battle was still raging, a great force seemed to pluck the attackers from where the stood. Rather than disappear, it was like they were being sucked back to some other location against their will.

The defenders waited for three hours but the attackers never returned.

Sirius walked in a little after 10am and plopped himself tiredly down in a wooden chair across the desk from James. "So Prongs, what's on the agenda for today? Now that the attack is over, all that is left is the cleanup."

James lifted his head up from the desk and laughed tiredly. He liked their job investigating magical disturbances. It was interesting and typically low stress. But after yesterday, he would love for a vacation or to investigate a false alarm. Normally, he got annoyed wasting time investigating events that turned out to be bursts of accidental magic but today they would be welcomed.

"I don't know, Croaker sent a note earlier saying he would be by with our next assignment."

The friends spent another 20 minutes talking about nothing until their boss walked into the office with their new assignment.

Croaker was a middle aged man with graying blond hair and stooped shoulders. He had spent almost his entire career within the Department of Mysteries. During that time, he was responsible for the purge of Death Eaters and sympathizers during Voldemort's rise. That act had opened the door for his rise to director of the Department. 

"James, Black I know you're tired from yesterday but I have your next assignment." 

"What no good morning?" Joked Sirius.

Croaker huffed good naturedly. "It will be good once you and James are out of my hair."

Sirius clutched his hands to his chest. "You wound me mon capitan."

"Right anyway this one is in our own backyard, right here in London."

A frown found its way onto James' face. "London? After yesterday, there were probably dozens of bouts of accidental magic. What makes this one so special?" 

"Yes London and no it can't be accidental magic."

"Why not? How could you know that?" James asked curiously.

"Because it was a massive discharge that had been going continuously for close to 20 minutes."

Sirius actually began to get interested. "20 minutes? There's no way that could be accidental magic. Hell, most adults don't have enough power to keep anything of decent strength going for that long."

Croaker nodded in agreement. "I know, that's why I'm sending you two. It shouldn't be that hard to get by unnoticed, the muggles were hit harder than we were by the attackers."

Sirius jumped to his feet, eager to unravel the mystery. "Come on James, time waits for no man."

**September 28****th****, 1991, RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk, UK**

2nd Lieutenant John Sheppard was standing in front of Colonel Malcolm Reed, the commander of the US forces stationed at the base. "Reporting as ordered. Sir!" John said crisply. His firm voice and rigid stance stood in direct contrast to his haggard appearance. His uniform was ripped, bloody and covered in soot and mud.

"Lieutenant Sheppard, thank you for coming so promptly." Reed looked as rough as John. "I know you are tired but I need you to lead a detachment to London."

Why would he be chosen to lead? There were others that were more senior. Yet part of him wanted nothing more than to get to London and check on his family. Since the attacks had begun, there had been only scattered reports coming from London and none of them were positive. 

"London sir?" Was all John asked despite the myriad of thoughts and questions running through his head.

Reed looked at John with a measuring eye. The forces on the base had been taken by complete surprise when the alien forces first began their attack. Sheppard hadn't balked or frozen like most of the men, instead he lead the charge in containing the aliens. His bravery and inventiveness in improvising weapons and tactics saved quite a few lives at the base. Though Reed knew he shouldn't, part of the reason he was sending John to London was because his family lived there. The man had earned the right to check on them.

"We've been asked to provide assistance. They need everyone available to search for survivors and help the wounded." 

"Of course Sir. We'll be ready to leave within the hour." 

"John…check on your family while you're there." Reed added. 

"Permission to speak freely?" John asked. He was certainly grateful for what his commander was doing but he was still confused about one thing.



"Granted." Reed had a good idea of what was coming but it was up to John to voice it.

"Why am I leading the men? There are more experienced officers that you could have given command to." The confusion was clear in his voice, but at the same time it was obvious that he felt confident enough in his abilities to complete the assignment.

Reed stood up from behind his desk and turned to look out the window. "Yes, there are more experienced officers but you were the one that took action. You were the one responsible for saving this base and the lives of those men out there. Rest assured, it will be noted in your record. The Air Force needs more men like you, able to think outside of the box in any situation." Reed turned and faced Sheppard again. "Good work Lieutenant."

If possible, John stood straighter. There was pride shining in his eyes. "Thank you sir."

"Dismissed."

John saluted before leaving. As soon as he left the office, he practically ran to gather the men. A little voice in the back of his head was urging him to get to London as quickly as possible.

**September 28****th****, 1991, London, UK**

John's team made it to London in less than 2 hours from the time he left the Colonel's office. With so much damage to the roads and highways, he had been authorized to take a HH-60G Pave hawk helicopter. The ten men that were under his command easily fit inside since there was little in the way of cargo that needed to be stored.

While in flight, John had received instructions on where to land. Once they were on the ground, John reported in to the civilian that seemed to be coordinating the search and rescue operations. The woman was operating from a white tent. Spread out on a rickety wooden table in front of her was a map of London that had been divided into various sectors. Some of which had been marked off which John could only assume meant that they had been searched already.

"Ma'am." John began while scanning the map for the neighborhood where his family lived. He noticed that it hadn't been marked off yet. "Not meaning to be pushy or anything, but if you don't have any objections, I would like to take this section." He stated while pointing to a portion of the section in question.

She was a little annoyed by the request. There was too much of the city that needed to be covered still and now she had a Yank soldier coming in and demanding a specific assignment. "Why?"

John may have been fairly young but he knew when an honest answer was his only chance of avoiding an argument. "My family lives in that area. Since it hasn't been searched yet, it kills two birds…"

"We've all lost family here." But her eyes softened a little. Now that she knew the reason, it would be impossible for her to deny his request. "Ok, but check in every hour. Channel 9 is being used to call for medical evacs."

"Thank you ma'am." Honestly, her permission wouldn't have stopped him, but it did make things easier this way.

After returning to his men, he commandeered one of the trucks that were being used to ferry people around the city. He drove the route to his family's home slowly; the roads were littered with debris. Everywhere they looked buildings and homes were burnt out or were missing chunks of walls or roofs.

As he drew nearer to his home, the damage changed pattern changed. He heard one of the men mutter "Fuck, it looks like a bomb went off here."

John had to agree. The homes, trees, light poles, all were blown down. It was like looking at a picture of the Mount St. Helens eruption, all the trees were blown over in the same direction, all radiating outward from the volcano's cone.

The men started jumping out of the back as soon as he stopped. "Ok, you know the drill. Look for any survivors. I want everyone to pair up. Compton, you're with me."

Compton, a marine sergeant in his late 20s, quickly moved over to join John. His years in the service had taught him to read people pretty well, especially the younger officers. It took time to build a mask that covered worry and nerves. It was obvious to him the lieutenant still had a ways to go. "Sir, is there someone specifically I should be looking for?"

John remained quiet for a moment despite the fact that it was obvious he was leading them to a specific location. The ruins of his home were in sight and he wanted nothing more than to run over there. At the same time, he knew that as soon as he did, it would be final. He would be the last Sheppard. "My family lived there."

Compton followed John's arm and saw nothing but piles of rubble. It was hard to tell, but it looked like it was the center of the blast or whatever the hell had happened here. There was little he could say. It would be like pouring salt on an open wound to offer any false hope so he remained silent. 

Their approach to home had slowed considerably. Each step was taken with a heaviness that conveyed a sense of dread and despair.

After what seemed like hours to John but in reality was less than a minute, he had reached what used to be the walk up to his front door. 

"Sir, if you want I can do this alone." 

Not trusting himself to speak, John just shook his head and forced his feet to move forward. Drywall and wood shifted under his feet. A lump formed in his throat, his home looked like something out of World War II. It resembled nothing more than a bombed out hulk, there was virtually nothing left of it.

By the time they reached what was left of the front door, John was struggling to keep himself together. It was the hardest thing he had ever done, forcing himself to step inside. Once he did, his eyes traveled around what was left of the entry way and main hallway. There on the floor were the still bodies of his mom and his little brother. This time, he couldn't stop the tears that formed and rolled down his face.

Compton felt bad for the lieutenant when he saw the two bodies. While moving to examine the bodies, the sergeant noted that the area around the boy seemed to be the center of whatever explosion had 

occurred. When he was no more than a foot or two away, Compton almost rubbed his eyes in disbelief. It looked like the boy was breathing. It was very shallow because his chest barely moved but unless he was imagining it…Unbidden, his head turned to look at the lieutenant but he was still rooted to the same spot. So Compton knelt down and place two fingers against the boy's neck. It was almost agonizing the few seconds it took for him to register that there was a weak pulse.

"Lieutenant!" Compton said sharply. "We need a medical team immediately!"

His knees almost gave out on him. Thankfully, his training kicked in and he clicked his radio. "This is Lieutenant Sheppard we need a medical team at…"

Compton tuned him out and moved over to the second body. Unfortunately she did not appear to be as lucky as her son. Even before feeling her neck for a pulse, the man knew she was gone.

Help was promised. John allowed himself to look over to the sergeant who just shook his head. It hurt knowing that his mom was gone, but he was rejoicing at the fact that his little brother was still alive. Finally, his paralysis broke and in a flash he was by Jason's side looking him over for any sign of visible injuries. Nothing appeared to be wrong with him, other than some minor scrapes. 

"Sergeant, would you mind waiting out front for the medical team? I'd like a minute alone." John had pulled Jason into his lap and was just holding him gently. 

There was nothing to even consider. Compton would have asked for the same if he were in the Lieutenant's position. "Of course sir." He stood up from his position by the mother's body. "And sir, I'm very sorry for your loss."

"Thank you Sergeant, but I'm luckier than many. At least I know Jason has a chance."

Outside, John and his men were being observed. Unseen by any of the men, James and Sirius were watching as the soldiers spread out across the area. The amount of destruction was terrifying. Clearly, the muggles were hit much harder than Diagon Alley was. James didn't know if that was because of their magic or if they had just gotten lucky.

Sirius leaned over and whispered "How do you want to handle this? Whatever happened started in there." 

James shrugged before he remembered that Sirius couldn't see him under the disillusionment charm. "Not much we can do. The only thing is to wait. What do you think happened? There's magic residue everywhere."

Sirius shifted his weight a little, careful to not disturb any of the loose debris that was all around them. He wrapped his arms around himself to stop the chill that went down his spine. Whoever had been responsible showed incredible power. Honestly, he wasn't sure if he hoped they were still alive or not. "I don't know. But whoever did this, we need to make sure that they aren't dark. Even Voldemort never did something like this."



James actually growled. The mention of Voldemort always had that effect on him. Everyone always assumed he hated Voldemort as much as he did because of Harry. Only Sirius knew that Voldemort just opened up old wounds with Lily and Thomas. "Yeah well, thank god for small favors."

The conversation was cut short by the arrival of a green van with a bright red cross painted on the side. 

"We know someone survived anyway." James pointed out when a trio of men with a stretcher rushed into the ruins of the home.

It felt like an eternity before they came back out but in reality it was only 10 minutes. Both wizards could feel it immediately. The spells they had cast to find the source of the magical disturbance, a secret known only to the Unspeakables, were still functioning. The spell allowed the caster to trace back the source of any spell or magical discharge as long as the magical signature was known. Normally, the signature would have faded by now but whatever had been done was so powerful there were still traces of it everywhere.

Unfortunately, they were too far away to get more than a basic idea of who they were looking at.

"Fuck he's just a kid." James was barely able to keep his voice down. "Quick get a tracer on that truck."

"Done." Sirius whispered quietly.

"Ok, let's get out of here. We can come back once they get wherever they're going." 

The soldiers never noticed the two quiet cracks that signaled the apparition of the two wizards.

**September 28****th****, 1991, London, UK**

John and his team didn't spend much time at the field hospital that had been established in London. It only took a short examination by the doctors to determine that Jason was stable. Immediately, John ordered him prepped for transfer. With his parents dead, the simplest situation would be for John to bring Jason to the base in Suffolk.

"Sergeant get the men to the Pave Hawk while I let Ms Hemmer know that we are leaving." John left to go to the command tent as soon as Compton acknowledged the order.

It was a short walk to the command tent from the hospital. There were a number of teams milling about. It was getting close to night fall so the search teams were being recalled. "Ms Hemmer?"

She was sitting on a flimsy wooden chair with her eyes closed and a cup of hot tea in her hands. At the sound of John's voice, she opened her eyes and looked over at him wearily. "Yes? Were you able to find anyone?" She vaguely remembered him from earlier in the day.

She studied his face. It was a mixtures of relief and grief. "Yes but there was only a single survivor."

The sound of relief in his voice brought her back to their first conversation. "Were you able to find your family?" She like most of the others had lost people close to her and the sympathy from such an experience was clear in her tone of voice.



Before he answered, she knew the answer. "Yes ma'am. My brother survived somehow. My mother didn't." He paused for a moment to clear his throat and to get his emotions under control. "I wanted to inform you that we are leaving. I'm bringing my brother with me but another team will return tomorrow morning to continue with the search operation."

"Any help you can provide is appreciated. I'm happy you found your brother."

"Thank you ma'am." John saluted before turning and leaving the tent.

**September 28****th****, 1991, RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk, UK**

Sirius was more than a little frustrated. They had been at this for most of the day and still they hadn't been within 10 feet of the boy. It was only his quick thinking that allowed them to track him when he was transported to Suffolk.

"Finally, I thought those muggle doctors would never leave." Sirius muttered when the doctors left the room where Jason was resting. With no one else in the room, James and Sirius dropped the disillusionment charms that had been concealing them.

His wand moved a rapid pattern, emitting a pale white trail of light. In seconds James finished and the light encompassed the entire room before fading. "Notice me not ward." He said absently.

Sirius hadn't moved from his position near the doorway. The examination could be done by James; he would make sure that no one came in. The ward would just prevent people from checking out any noise they made, it wouldn't prevent someone from coming in if they intended to anyway.

Inwardly cursing the amount of effort that had been spent on this investigation, James moved over to the bed. Absently, he waves his wand over the unconscious form to get a general diagnostic of his health. "Good lord!" James exclaimed softly.

"What?"

James turned his head to look at Sirius. "There's nothing wrong with him. No injuries, no damage to speak of, he's just suffering from magical exhaustion."

A queasy feeling formed in the pit of his stomach again. Sirius had to wonder what kind of boy had such power. "Do you think the military knows about him? Is that why he's here?" 

James didn't hear anything else Sirius said. He was struck by the face before him. It looked so much like his own. But that wasn't possible, there were no other Potters. It was just Thomas and… "Oh my god. It can't be." Could this really be Harry? But how? Yet he had no other relatives aside from Thomas and the resemblance was too strong to dismiss. For the first time in years, James felt alive with the mere possibility that his youngest son might be alive.

"James? James!" Still James wasn't hearing him. Sirius moved to the bed and grabbed James by the arm. "What?"

Sirius let go of James' arm and waited for him to answer. He had yet to even look at the boy not realizing that he was the cause of his friend's distress.

"Sirius look at him!" His voice was choked and he almost struggled to get the words out. It was a fight not to run his fingers through the boy's hair. It had to be him. There was no other explanation. The small detached part of his brain asked the question though. If it is Harry, then what happened that night? How did he survive? Was Thomas even the Boy-Who-Lived?

Unbidden, his hand reached out and squeezed James' shoulder in comfort. It had been quite a while since he had heard his friend so upset. There was something about the boy that was disturbing him and he turned to see what it was. For a long moment, his brain simply refused to process what he was seeing. Like James, he was arguing with himself about the impossibility of this being Harry and yet who else could it be.

"Is it…is it Harry?" Sirius asked softly.

At that moment, John walked into the room. He had spoken with the doctors and they were confident that Jason would wake up within a day or two at the most. As far as they could tell, he was merely suffering from some severe case of exhaustion which was probably exacerbated by the emotional trauma of losing his parents.

The doctor's assessment only served to drive home yet again that his parents were gone. It wasn't 100 sure with his dad, but he doubted the man would have left Jason or mom by themselves otherwise. He almost felt guilty for not being more distraught about their deaths but he was still just relieved that Jason had managed to survive. In time, he would grieve. He'd loved his parents, there was no doubt of that but right now the living were more important. It was with absolute certainty that he knew his parents would've wanted his focus to be on Jason.

The incongruity of the sight before him didn't register at first. It was the black robes that both men were wearing that tipped him off to the fact that these were not base personnel. "Who the fuck are you?" His hand automatically reached for his sidearm. It was only with him because of the recent attack otherwise, he would never carry a weapon when off duty.

Both Sirius and James jumped, startled by the harsh question. Instincts had their wands in hand and rising before they even assessed the situation. Sirius recognized the muggle as the soldier that had been in charge of the troops this morning. What was he doing here? Did he know Harry was a wizard? 

Neither James nor Sirius answered before John motioned with gun. "Get the hell away from my brother!" His hand clenched the gun tightly, ready to fire at the slightest provocation. It was the wooden sticks in their hands that drew his attention now that they were facing him. Wooden sticks…no not wooden sticks…it couldn't be…could it? "What the fuck do wizards want with Jason?!"

Sirius was going to Obliviate the soldier. He clearly knew about magic, but no he couldn't. He said Harry was his brother, if that was the case than it wasn't against the law for him to know. "You know about magic?" He asked dumbly.

"Obviously." John replied sarcastically. His gun never wavered. John was fully prepared to shoot one or both these men. "I suggest you put the wands down and explain what you're doing here." The tone of his voice made it sound like anything but a suggestion.



Sirius wasn't inclined to give up his only means of defense. 

James apparently was though. Without hesitation, he tossed his wand across the room so there would be no chance of his retrieving it before John shot him. The risk was worth it. He needed to know if this was Harry. 

Sirius looked and James and saw the plea in his eyes. Groaning to himself, he too tossed his wand away.

"Explain!" John ordered.

"Can I sit?" James asked. Without waiting for a response, James practically collapsed in a chair near Jason's bed. "We work for the Ministry of Magic. Yesterday, we recorded a massive magical disturbance. It was practically off the charts."

James was a little taken aback by the smirk on John's face. "That sounds like Jason."

"What do you mean?"

John couldn't help himself. "He's always been a little disturbing."

Unsure if the man was joking or not, James continued on "Well we were able to determine that this boy was the cause of whatever happened." There was a pause while James gathered his courage. "Do you know anything about him?"

A roll of his eyes told James that he was being stupid. "He's my brother so I would say yes I know something about him." John was a little disturbed by the looked utter despair that seemed to overtake the man. 

So he was unprepared when his partner asked "Was he adopted?" Really, James was jumping to conclusions too quickly. The name or the fact that this man considered Harry his brother wasn't an indication either way. Chances are they wouldn't have known Harry's real name anyway.

Now John's eyes narrowed. He didn't like the direction this was heading. Jason was his family, and no one was going to take that away from him. "Why?!"

James wasn't in any condition to explain at the moment so Sirius had to take the lead. "Please, it's very important."

It was obvious that they were desperate for the information for some reason. "Yeah he was. Doesn't matter though, he's my brother and you're not taking him anywhere."

Hope returned to James and he straightened in the chair. His eyes were almost eager and youthful again when he turned to Sirius. "It has to be him. What are the chances?"

The desire to believe is strong, but he needs to be the cynical one right now. This could devastate James otherwise. "Do you…do you remember when he was adopted?" Sirius was almost hesitant. Even if this was Harry, what would happen now? Clearly, he's been living with a family and probably loves them. If this soldier is any indication, they love him as well.

"Look, what's this all about? If you not here to try and take him away, then why all the questions?"

Again, it was the almost desperate look about both men that moved John to answer after getting another plea from Sirius. "Fine, but I want an explanation." Once both men nodded John answered. "We didn't know his birthday so we used the day my dad found him, October 31st."

"Oh my god, Sirius it's him. He's alive." There were tears making their way down James' face now.

Sirius couldn't deny it. The coincidence would be too great between the resemblance to James, being adopted, and October 31st. He started to move over to be closer to his god son but John stopped him.

Waving the gun pointedly. "No way…Stay away from brother. Now I've answered your questions. It's your turn to answer mine."

Now that he had found Harry, he's not going to give him up. So James figured the easiest way was to explain what happened. "How much do you know about the wizarding world?"

"Not much." Said John.

Left with no recourse, James describes the first rise of Lord Voldemort. After that, he went into the birth of the twins, the prophecy which he only touched on, and finally he described the events of that night October 31st. 

Sirius picked up the story then. "I searched for hours but I couldn't find a single trace of Harry. But what I don't understand is how your father came to find Harry. Did someone turn him into the muggle authorities?"

"First of all, his name is Jason not Harry. Secondly, let's say I believe your story. What do you expect to happen now? Because I can tell you that legally he is my brother and I will fight you tooth and nail if you try and take him."

"I…" James swallowed a little nervously because of the intense look John was giving him. "I guess I never really thought that far ahead. I'd always hoped he was alive somewhere but to just come across him randomly like this…"

John sighed and against his better judgment holstered his gun. "If Jason is your biological son, maybe we should ask him what he wants to do. Can you prove that he is your son? Nothing personal but I'd like to see some hard evidence."

"There's no magic that I'm aware of that can tell you a person's parents. Some families like Sirius' have a family tree that magically updates itself to show all the members but even that wouldn't prove anything since there are no pictures."

This was turning into a real mess but he owed it to Jason to find out the truth. He knew his brother well enough to be confident that even if this guy was his biological father, he would stay with John. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small radio that he had taken off of Jason before the medics had arrived. There were advantages to having relatives work for Torchwood after all.

"Torchwood 3, this is John Sheppard, come in." John waited. He was transmitting on the personal frequency that Jack had designated for his family to use if they ever needed him.

After a short wait, a tired sounding Jack came back over the speaker. "John is that you? Are you ok? What about your family?" 

There was another sigh before John answered. "Yeah it's me Uncle Jack. Umm mom and dad are dad." It wasn't the kind of news that he was used to delivering and he didn't know any other way but to just put it out there.

"God John, I'm so sorry. What about Jason?" Jack hoped that at least Jason survived. Over the years, he'd found that he rather liked being an uncle.

"Oh…sorry I should have told you that too. He's unconscious but the docs think it is just exhaustion."

"That's great news John. Is there anything I can do? Cardiff wasn't hit as hard as London."

"Actually there is. I have two wizards here with me. One of them claims that Jason is his son. Do you have anything that we can use to prove it one way or another?"

"Wizards? Really? Huh…Yeah, I do in fact. I can be at the base in the morning with the equipment. Normally this would take weeks but you know we have certain advantages."

John laughed at the joke since he had been thinking that exact same thing a few minutes ago. "Thanks. See you in the morning." After putting the radio away, he turns his attention back to James and Sirius. "Ok, Uncle Jack will be here in the morning and he can run a test to see if Jason is your biological son."

"Why do you keep calling him that?"

"What Jason? I told you that's his name."

"No, why do you keep referring to him as his biological son?" The question came out a little sharper than Sirius intended.

James understood John's position though and tried to calm Sirius down. "Sirius just shut up ok."

"I know this has to suck for you. First you thought your son was dead and now you're hoping that he's my brother. But the fact of the matter is that Jason knows he was adopted but for most of his life has seen my parents as his mom and dad. So this isn't about you and what you want. It's about what Jason wants." 

"Uncle Jack was my dad's boss at the time. He probably knows the circumstances of what happened so I suggest you meet back here tomorrow morning. Now I'll probably regret this but I'm going to trust you not to do anything that would make me hunt you down." John finished coldly.

As hard as it was to admit, James agreed with John. "He's right Sirius. It should be Harry's…sorry Jason's decision. Maybe this Jack will have answers for us."

Grumbling his agreement for now, another question popped into Sirius' head. It had occurred to him before but then all the drama started and he forgot about it. "Wait you know about magic and you weren't surprised about Harry…I mean Jason. Sorry, that's going to take some getting used to. Why isn't he at Hogwarts? Shouldn't he be a first year?

It was a good point James realized. Why wasn't he at Hogwarts? Did his family not want him to learn about magic?

John shrugged. "He didn't want to go. Told me that none of his friends were magical so he'd rather stay with them."

Sirius didn't know what to say. It never occurred to him that someone might not want to go to Hogwarts. "But, why wouldn't he want to learn about magic? There is so much in the wizarding world that…" Suddenly, Sirius trailed off. He didn't want to insult Harry's brother.

Now it was John's turn to be a little scornful. "Oh he's had some training. Even got a tour of that alley place in London. Said he wasn't impressed."

"Not impressed? But what about flying? Did he at least try to fly a broomstick?" James asked, equally horrified. He didn't have anything against muggles but even though he was married to Lily, a muggleborn, he'd never really taken the time to see what the muggle world had to offer.

John couldn't help it. He laughed at their stricken expressions. It was just so like Jason to do something like this and leave him to explain it. "Broomsticks, you're serious? I thought he was kidding about that."

"No they're great. Some of them go over a 200 kilometers per hour." James supplied enthusiastically.

Now Sirius and James were confused because John looked a little abashed. "Umm, well I might have ruined that for you a little." Despite the circumstances, John found himself liking the two men and he could sympathize with their situation.

"What did you do?" James asked accusingly. He better not have made fun of his son for wanting to fly.

"I'm in the US Air Force. For Jason's 9th birthday, I got him a flight on an F-15E Strike Eagle." When he saw the mystified looks on their faces he explained. "It's a fighter jet." Now his face bore a combination of pride and embarrassment. What they didn't know was that John was embarrassed for them because they were so proud of the top speed. "Yeah…you see the top speed of the F-15 is just about 2,700 kph."

James couldn't speak. He just mouthed 2,700 a few times. It was almost impossible to fathom going that fast. 

Sirius only said "Fuck!"

John smiled crookedly and nodded in agreement saying "Yeah, it's pretty damn cool. I'm not ashamed to admit, I scored some major big brother points with that one."

**September 29****th****, 1991, RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk, UK**



John was sitting by Jason's bedside reading a book. The Colonel had been gracious enough to give him the morning off so that he could sit with his brother. The book had been sitting in his lap unopened for close to a half hour now, his mind kept returning to the encounter the previous night. It was such a bizarre coincidence, that more than anything was what bothered him. 

At least they both seemed nice enough. He chuckled softly remembering their reaction to his description of the F-15 fighter. It was their attitude that bothered him though, as if there was nothing in the non-magical world to compare to magic. Sure, John had seen some of the things that could be done with magic and would be the first to admit that it was powerful but that didn't mean that it was the answer to every problem.

"Mmmm…." Jason mumbled and began to stir.

"Come on little brother. Wake up. You can do it." John urged quietly. Absently he brushed Jason's hair away from his forward when he started to blink his eyes open.

"John?" Jason muttered weakly. His eyes were still blinking trying to focus on his surroundings.

"It's me kiddo. You don't know how good it is to hear your voice." Said John emphatically before running his fingers through Jason's hair, intentionally ruffling it.

Jason gave up opening his eyes for the moment. "Now I know it's you. Only you do that to my hair, whenever you want to annoy me."

John laughed at the put upon tone of his brother's voice. "Of course I do, it's part of the big brother credo." Then John sobered up. "Are you ok? Do you hurt anywhere?"

Tears began leak from Jason's closed eyes. His face screwed up trying to fight it but his voice came out despairingly "They're gone aren't they?"

Suddenly, John found it hard to breathe. It was such a simple question but the answer was far more profound. For the first time in his life, he wished that he wasn't the older brother. But he couldn't grieve now, Jason needed him, needed him to be strong. "I think so. There's been no word from dad and I tried your radio."

Jason's watery eyes were open and looking at him now. "I…I saw them kill mom." Jason stopped and his expression became horrified. "Oh god! Did I kill anyone? When they killed mom…I couldn't think…I just hated them so much…"

Never one to be very touchy feely, John grabbed Jason into a tight hug. He began whispering in Jason's ear while rubbing his back soothingly. "No you didn't kill anyone."

"But how do you…"

John pulled away so he could look Jason in the eye but he was still holding by the shoulders. "I was the one who found you. My team searched your neighborhood. You and mom were the only ones not taken. Do you understand?"



His brother nodded and wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Hey Uncle Jack is on his way." 

"Really? Why? Don't they need him at Torchwood?"

John regretted bringing it up now. His brother didn't need to deal with this right now but it was too late to back out. "Jason…ummm…not sure how to say this. Ok, after you did whatever it was you did, and I want to hear about that later, a couple of wizards showed up to investigate. Well, it turns out that one of them might be your biological father. Jack is coming so he can run a test to check it for sure."

"But I thought they were dead?"

"You know as much as I do."

A little timidly, Jason asked "You're still my brother though right?"

John rolled his eyes and snorted. "I thought you were supposed to be smart. I've already started looking at 2 bedroom apartments. Until we find one though, you can have my bed and I'll take the couch."

"John, you know I…um…" Jason trailed off blushing lightly.

"Yeah I do too." John knew what Jason was trying to say. Not long after, John left briefly and came back with a tray of breakfast for his brother, along with the doctor. After a thorough examination, Jason was pronounced fit but he would spend another night in the infirmary for observation.

Shortly after the Jason had finished breakfast, Jack entered the room. He was a little surprised to see Jason awake but it lightened his mood considerably. In his hand was a black leather case that held the equipment necessary to run the DNA comparison. 

"John, Jason you have no idea how good it is to see you alive." There was a look of relief in their uncle's eyes that they had never seen before. Always in the past he had been one to brush off adversity and charge ahead but obviously this time was different.

The three spent close to an hour catching up and sharing stories of Maggie and Michael Sheppard. Jason asked about Torchwood and whether it would continue or not. John was more than a little surprised by the bitterness that was in his brother's voice, it would be something he would ask about later when they were alone. To the best of Jack's knowledge there was no plan to shut it down but there would hopefully be additional oversight now.

At 11am, James and Sirius finally made their appearance. Jack could see the resemblance between Jason and James immediately and wondered if he had made the wrong decision all those years ago.

James was thrilled to see Jason awake but he was a little unnerved by the color of his eyes. Harry had brilliant green eyes but Jason seemed to have a mix of that green but a pale blue as well.



After introductions, Jack took a DNA sample from both Harry and James and began to run the analysis. While the computer was running, he explained what happened the night that he and Michael had found Jason. 

James wanted to be angry with the man. He wanted to hate him for taking away his son but he couldn't say that he would have done things any differently. It was true that without magic, they would have been killed in the wreckage of his home. 

"How did you know about the attack if you aren't wizards?" Sirius asked suspiciously.

"The organization that I work for, Torchwood, was made aware of the wizarding world by order of the Queen more than 100 years ago. Since then, we have come into possession of certain technologies that detect energy. Magic at its heart is simply another form of energy that you have learned to harness."

As much as he wanted to, Jack couldn't tell them about Torchwood. The name itself was publicly known, but their charter was not. "I apologize for causing you so much pain. When I found Jason that night, we could only assume that everyone was dead. We were able to determine that most of the attack was with what we call necrotic energy or death magic if you will. Well, I was afraid that Jason would be attacked again."

Sirius wasn't totally satisfied with Jack's answer on how they detected the attack but working for the Unspeakables he recognized official secrets when he saw one. 

James on the other hand couldn't fault the man's logic. There were many Death Eaters that had tried to go after Thomas because he'd vanquished Voldemort. "Was Jason hurt?"

Jack pondered his answer while looking at Jason. Finally he decided that it shouldn't trouble him too much to hear. "Yes, he was unconscious and had a strange lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead. But the greater concern was the fact that his body was saturated with the necrotic energy. Our doctor was able to purge it from his body and now we are stuck with the little monster." Jack finished with a smile.

John and Jason knew that there were portions left of the story. Their dad had given them more details on Jason's condition if not the circumstances.

James on the other hand was wondering why Jason would have any death magic in his system. "Are you sure your machines were right? Because the only way that could've happened would be if he was struck with the killing curse or been the victim of necromancy. And since he is not a zombie, it had to be the killing curse."

Before Jack could answer, the computer beeped signaling that the test was complete. After looking over the results briefly, Jack nodded and announced "Jason meet your biological father."


	2. The Early Years

Disclaimer: Don't own anything of Harry Potter or Stargate Atlantis.

**A/N: Wow! Thanks for all the reviews, I never expected to get such a big response to the first chapter. I'll never demand reviews for updates but they are certainly a motivator.**

**A/N 2: **There is a lot of time passing in this chapter. I skimmed the first five years of school and tried to touch on the highlights only. So that means that much of Books 1 – 5 are left unsaid. By now, I would hope people are familiar enough with them. Two more things, I'm advancing the Stargate SG-1 timeline. Instead of beginning in 1997, it started in 1990. So by extension, that means the Atlantis expedition would begin in 1997. I'm taking creative license in John's promotion timeline. I realize it is extremely improbable to make Major that quickly but hey that's why it's fiction.

**Chapter 2: The Early Years**

**June 29****th****, 19****9****2****RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk**** UK**

"My father?" Jason asked softly. No this wasn't his father. He may have contributed his DNA but Michael Sheppard was his father.

Jack looked at Jason trying to gauge his reaction. "Yes, there can be no doubt that James Potter is your biological father."

"Dad's dead. He's not my father!" Jason said hotly while pointing at James.

James couldn't deny how much that hurt but he refused to back down now, not after finding his son again.

John tried to be supportive and added "Hey, we always wondered what they were like. Now you have a chance to get to know him."

Jason turned and looked at John like he'd betrayed him, but he refused to say anything.

"Harry…" James began only to stop when he saw the glares coming from both Sheppard brothers.

"Jason, I'm know what it's like to lose your parents. I'm not trying to take their place, really I'm not. I'd just like the chance to get to know you again."

"Just go away, all of you!" He practically yelled. It was too much, Jason just couldn't deal with this right now. And to emphasize his point, he rolled over in his bed so he was facing away from everyone.

Fighting his own tears, James prepared to leave but before he did, he made a promise. "I'll be here Jason, if and when you want to give me a chance."

9 months had passed since that painful day when Jason lost his parents. During that time, he had settled into life in Suffolk. Because he was living on the base with his brother, there were still kids his age to hang around with but he was slow to make new friends. It would simply take time to get over the death of his parents.

John had received a promotion to 1st Lieutenant for his role in the base defense. It was much quicker than the typical timeline but there was precedent for it. Along with his new rank, he was moved onto new aircraft for flight training. Just before Jason started school, he received his flight status for the F-15.

When Jason had first started attending the school located on the base, John had been concerned because he received multiple phone calls from concerned teachers. They were concerned about Jason; he didn't show any interest in any of the subjects and barely participated in class. It was a natural reaction to their parents' deaths but still John didn't want Jason to sink any further. From his own experience, he knew that Jason needed some sort of outlet. What John didn't know was that his parents' death was not the only thing bothering his little brother.

Almost immediately after waking up on the airbase in Suffolk, Jason began experiencing strange and vivid dreams. He didn't realize what was going on at first, not until the dreams began recurring every few days. There were two distinct dreams that kept recurring; one was simply eerie while the second was terrifying.

The first dream found Jason alone in a place unlike any he had ever been. The halls were lined with futuristic doors and panels like what he had seen in science fiction movies. All of it was colored with soft browns and tans. Transparent green decorative panels filled with a bubbling liquid and miniature trees lined many of the corridors. There were computer panels and displays were lifeless and covered with a sheer silk like cloth everywhere he looked. The light that filtered in through the windows was muted like it was being filtered. None of it on its own seemed impossible or fantastic. Even in his dreams, his experiences from Torchwood prepared him to accept such things. But he had never seen anything on such a grand scale because altogether the individual pieces painted a picture of a technologically advanced wonder.

When the dream had occurred the first time, Jason began to call out because surely someone must live in such an incredible place. But there was never any reply. Every time the dream came again, Jason found himself exploring the abandoned city and he imagined what it must have been like when people walked the halls and filled the city with laughter and life. Now, in his dreams the city was only filled with the ghosts and fading memories of those who had once lived there.

The second dream was more disturbing. These were the dreams that woke Jason up in the middle of the night. It was less of a dream and more of a string of flashes of fighting and death. In it, he was in the same city but this time it was filled with people, they looked human but wore strange white and tan clothes that seemed to be a mix between modern and ancient styles. Initially he was excited to see people filling the city but he quickly learned that they were facing a fearsome enemy that was pushing them back from all their territories. There were only flashes of the enemy, pale teal skinned beings with long white hair. Some looked like they the face of an insect while others appeared more like normal people but Jason knew he should be afraid.

Jason was afraid to tell anyone about his dreams, even John. He was afraid that he would be taken away from his last remaining family. So he did what any 11 year old would do and remained silent, slowly withdrawing further into himself.

In the end, there were two outlets that helped Jason begin to move past his grief and dreams to live life once again. The first had been when John signed him up for one of the martial arts classes taught on base. Reluctantly, Jason went to the first class. It was a mixed class of adults and kids so it gave Jason a chance to meet more people his age. More importantly, it gave Jason an outlet for the anger he had felt since the attack. Aikido provided him the outlet he needed to release his hurt and focus on something other than his feelings. Jason also enjoyed the class because it was something that he could do with John and for a time it allowed him to forget about his dreams.

The second outlet only came after Jason had begun his martial arts classes. James delivered on his promise. He never pressured Jason and let his son set the speed for everything. It wasn't that long before James began visiting Jason a couple times a week. It was slow going at first. There was a lot of guilt on both sides. Jason felt guilty because he was getting to know James and felt like he was replacing his dad. James felt guilty for all the years that his son had been lost to him.

As time passed, the two became more comfortable with each other. Early on, Jason had told James flat out that Michael was his dad but he would like James to be his friend. The words had stung James' heart, but he was happy that Jason wanted him in his life.

Many of their initial meetings were spent learning about each other and what had happened in the intervening years since Jason's disappearance. Jason shared most of his childhood, regaling James with tales of baseball games and adventures with John and his dad. The only topic he left out were his visits to Torchwood. As bizarre as it was, he was an 11 year old boy that had a top level security clearance. It was the only way that his dad had been able to bring him into Torchwood, so out of loyalty to his father if not the organization, Jason kept the secret.

James for his part gave Jason a more thorough picture of life in the wizarding world. He promised to give Jason a personal tour of the Ministry when he wanted one in addition to showing him the sights in Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. Like Jason, James shared most things but never brought up the subject of Lily or Thomas, only to say that things hadn't worked out. Even if he himself disliked or perhaps hated his wife, he didn't want to color Jason's opinion of her.

Like John, James was concerned with Jason's general lack of enthusiasm about anything during those initial months. He had thought to tutor Jason in magic but with his current state of mind, didn't think that it would be helpful or safe. That changed after Jason began his martial arts classes and began to take a healthy interest in life once again.

The early conversations on Jason's experiences with magic had been an eye opener for James. It had always been his assumption that Jason had simply performed an incredibly powerful piece of accidental magic. As it turned out, Jason had received some training in calming and centering himself. Apparently, Torchwood while not participating actively in the wizarding world had done enough research to learn that accidental magic was usually brought about by strong emotions. In giving Jason training to meditate so that he could calm and center himself, they inadvertently taught him to control not only his emotions but to a lesser extent it gave Jason control over his magic as well.

There had been the occasional incident of wandless magic from someone who was sufficiently powerful but those incidents were few and far between in the wizarding world. Now the question James was faced with was whether to tutor Jason using a wand or continue to explore his wandless magic to tap the limits of Jason's talent. He had even gone so far as to talk to his boss about it.

Croaker had been surprised to learn that Jason was capable of controlled wandless magic. It gave him some ideas that decided to have researched in the department. Specifically, if children were capable of wandless magic prior to getting their wands, what happened to change that ability? Was it a lack of use? Did magic fundamentally change as a person aged? Perhaps it was the use of wands and the strictly governed methods for casting spells?

Personally he didn't think it was the wands themselves, they were simply a medium to access one's magic easier. Rather it was the incantations and wand movements that were used when training young wizards and witches. The children were taught to only use their magic in a very specific way. It was his thought that this was the most likely reason. The adults capable of wandless magic were the ones that were the most creative that strove to work outside of the normal bounds of what was taught in magical institutions.

Never before had Croaker had an opportunity to work with a child that had learned some control of their magic without attending school. He recommended that James try one of the new wand alternatives that they had been testing. The prototypes had not been very successful not because they didn't channel magic as well as a wand but because the individual still had to replicate the traditional wand movements.

Together, they formulated a plan. Once an appropriate focus was found for Jason, they would use Hogwarts material for him to learn spells but James would focus only on the effects of the spells themselves leaving out movements or incantations. Since Jason wasn't going to a magic school there was no time table they had to work towards if it ended up taking longer.

Jason was excited to begin learning magic. After the death of his parents, he was more determined not to go away to school. And seeing what he was capable of that day, Jason knew he needed to learn more about what could and couldn't be done so he never hurt someone unintentionally.

Plus, he thought his focus was pretty cool looking. It was a black dragon hide fingerless glove. What would normally be the core of a wand was dissolved into the solution used to cure the dragon hide. In essence, the entire glove became infused with the core, which in this case was the powdered claw of a nundu.

Once the initial excitement wore off, Jason discovered the hard truth. Magic was going to take a lot of effort to learn. His days were quickly filled. If he wasn't in school or finishing his homework, he was at Aikido or spending time with James being tutored in magic. The constant activity helped to keep his mind off his dreams and to let the ghosts of his parents rest in peace.

**June 29****th****, 19****9****2****Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry UK**

Thomas Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived had an eventful first year at Hogwarts. It began on the Hogwarts Express which left from Platform 9 3/4s. To his delight, the press was out in force snapping pictures and begging for his time before he officially became a 1st year student at Hogwarts. He smiled and waved good naturedly to his adoring public before climbing on board.

In an effort to be seen by more people, Thomas chose the middle car. While waiting he began to go over his instructions from grandpa Albus. His honorary grandpa had recommended that he make friends with at least one half-blood or muggleborn. There assistance would be beneficial after school was complete. Besides it wouldn't be proper for the savior of the wizarding world to be seen as prejudiced.

Overall, the train ride proved to be uneventful. Of all the students that came to see him, he chose to be friends with Seamus Finnegan and Parvati Patil, a half-blood and pure blood respectively. There were other options that he left open until after the sorting. It simply wouldn't do to associate with Hufflepuffs or Slytherins unnecessarily.

Unknown to Thomas, Albus had threatened the sorting hat in order to ensure that Thomas was placed in Gryffindor. Albus had strongly doubted that he would make it in on his own merits. The boy was simply too sure of his own abilities and felt he was deserving of special attention. Slytherin would have been the natural place for him in any other situation. And so Thomas along with his new friends was sorted into the ecstatic Gryffindor house.

Tragedy struck the school on Halloween; a muggleborn witch by the name of Hermione Granger was killed by a troll. She had spent much of the afternoon and evening in a girl's bathroom crying after being tormented by Thomas and his two friends. It was on that day that the students and teachers began to see the real Boy-Who-Lived. He wasn't a savior or even a nice boy; he was a spoiled, self-important brat. Many felt that Thomas Potter was indirectly responsible for the death of a girl whose only crime had been to offer help when he was struggling with the levitation charm.

It had been a mad scramble on Albus' part to cover up Thomas' role. While he could keep the public ignorant of what really went on, he couldn't control the students themselves. But it was too late to change his plans now. Albus was confident that when Thomas was found having rescued the Philosopher's Stone from Voldemort, he would once again regain the favor of the students.

And so Thomas and his two cohorts followed the carefully prepared clues laid out by Dumbledore. First discovering what was contained in the Forbidden Corridor. Then the trio learned of the various forms of protection. Despite the clues, there were pieces of information that Albus practically had to wave in front of Thomas' face in order for the boy to make the necessary connections. At times, Dumbledore wished that Thomas were more intelligent but the Savior of the wizarding world didn't need to be intelligent, just brave, powerful, and charismatic.

When the end of the year rolled around, Thomas, Seamus and Parvati found themselves struggling through the protections around the stone. By some twist of fate, Thomas managed to make it through without killing either himself or his two young friends. In the end, he faced Professor Quirrell and the spirit of Voldemort.

In the shadows, observing was Albus Dumbledore. He frowned when after retrieving the stone from the mirror of Erised Thomas was unable to defeat the simpering DADA professor. Doubt began to niggle in the back of his mind when he was forced to step from his hiding place and kill the hapless professor to keep Voldemort from retrieving the stone.

When Thomas awoke in the infirmary, Albus spun a tale worthy of Shakespeare himself describing Thomas' victory of Voldemort and the preservation of the Philosopher's Stone. He had ensured that Seamus and Parvati overheard the description so that they could spread the news around the school and restore faith in the boy.

Unfortunately, the other first years and the professors had witnessed Thomas' performance in class. Based on his less than spectacular results, most found it difficult to believe that Thomas would have been capable of defeating Quirrell let alone Voldemort. Quietly, dissent began to grow in the halls of Hogwarts as students and professors lost faith in the notion of a boy savior.

**June 29****th****, 19****9****3****Suffolk UK**

To the casual observer, Jason would look like your average twelve soon to be thirteen year old boy. He had friends, he continued to play baseball, he excelled in school, and he spent most of his free time practicing either his Aikido or his magic. It was true that he had been able to largely put his parent's deaths behind him with the help of his brother and James but there was still one problem that was plaguing him. The dreams that had first started after the attack, those dreams still continued.

In the time since they had started, the dreams had changed slightly. During the dream in which the city was empty, Jason found himself drawn back to the same room over and over. It appeared to be empty but for a pedestal that appeared to have some sort of control panel positioned in front of it. The third time he was drawn back into the same room, Jason gathered the courage to step on the pedestal. Immediately, the room sprang to life and a woman that appeared. She looked to be in her mid 30s with shoulder length auburn hair and a slim figure. This woman or hologram, whatever she was seemed to be conveying some message but Jason was unable to understand her language. Until he could find some way to understand what she was saying his reason for being drawn to room would remain a mystery.

The second dream hadn't changed so much as moved forward in time. Over the months, Jason realized he was seeing some great war play out on the monitors. He witnessed as countless space ships were destroyed. Tears fell as he watched the enemy strip whole worlds of their inhabitants. Every morning he woke from the dream he said a prayer of thanks because he didn't want to know what happened to those people that were taken. His imagination was bad enough but something told him the reality was probably much worse.

Taking advantage of a long weekend, Jason visited Jack in Cardiff. It was the first time since his parents' death that he visited any Torchwood facility. At one time, he'd wanted to join Torchwood like his dad, but ever since the attack he blamed them for what happened. If they hadn't spent so much time studying aliens or their technology instead of stopping them at their source his parents would still be alive.

His visit to Torchwood wasn't a sign that his feelings were changing. No, he had ulterior motive. Jason hoped that Jack would have something on the language he was seeing in his dreams. Using drawings of the characters seen in his dreams over and over again, Jason was able to show Jack the language he was looking for. After allaying Jack's suspicion regarding the source of his information, Jack agreed to check the Torchwood database.

As a Christmas present from Jack, Jason got a specially made dictionary that could be used to translate the language Jason saw in his dreams. It would take time to learn, but finally he would be able to at least understand the panels and displays even if he couldn't understand the spoke language.

The only major change in Jason's life in the last years was that he was staying with James now. Shortly after Christmas, John had been deployed over to Bosnia as part of the US' Peace Keeping efforts and providing humanitarian aid. No one was happy about it, but that was life in the military. The only other option would have been for Jason to live with Jack. Instead, James had rented out his flat in London and rented a small home in Suffolk so that Jason wouldn't have to change schools or leave his friends.

The relationship that James had with Jason could never be described as parental. Together with Sirius, they did everything they could to make sure that Jason had fun. The last thing James wanted to see was his son spending more time in books rather than out enjoying his childhood. Rules were not something that was enforced often, the only exception being something that would put Jason's safety at risk.

Luckily one of the areas that were the most fun for all three of them was practicing Jason's magic. The gauntlet had been a major step forward in accessing and controlling his magic. It had taken many months, but eventually, Jason learned to channel his magic without being angry or frightened. That was the point when he started to leap forward.

The only time James let Harry read a book on his own was after he had mastered the material. So far, Croaker had been correct. All he had to do was to describe the effect to Jason in order for him to replicate it in some way. For Jason that was ok, but what he had the most fun doing was trying to do what he had seen in cartoons or read in books.

"Ok Jason so you want to try a friendly duel?" James asked teasingly. They were practicing in the field behind his home which he had warded to prevent anyone from wandering onto the scene.

"Sure but just don't feel too badly when I beat you." Jason quipped.

They separated and moved to opposite ends of the field. When they both were in position, James called out "I'll give you a freebie, so take your best shot."

Jason had no illusions about winning this duel; he had only finished the second year material when it came to traditional magic. And his less conventional attacks took too long but since he was getting a freebie, he'd take advantage of it.

James watched as Jason raised his hand. Soon enough a ball of blue-green magic swirled into existence. Groaning, he should've known not to give Jason a freebie.

The sphere bounced on Jason's hand a few time before he whipped it at James. As it sped towards James, the sphere split open and grew in size.

An attempt to dive out of the way did nothing for James. The sphere swerved and caught James in mid-flight, sealing him inside.

Both of Jason's hands began to glow with power again. He clasped his hands together and a solid beam burst forth. The sphere was ripped apart by the impact.

Jason watched as the sphere absorbed the impact for a moment before it began to shred. Then the world went black.

A few minutes later, Jason moaned and woke up. He saw James standing over him with a smile on his face. "That was cute."

"What happened?" Asked Jason as he sat up.

"You made that sphere opaque, you never even realized that I apparated behind you." James explained.

Grasping onto James' outstretched hand, Jason pulled himself to his feet. "Maybe I should stick with more conventional attacks."

Surprisingly James shook his head. "Those are good, but that sphere was a very clever idea. I think what we need to do is help you perfect some of them. Wherever you get the ideas is good they just need some work to make them more practical."

Now it was Jason's turn to snicker. "My source? I read too many comic books and watch a lot of cartoons, that's my source."

"God when Sirius hears this…you truly are my son." As soon as he said it, James knew it was a mistake. "Jason I'm sorry I didn't mean that."

"No…no I mean it's true after all." He paused and turned to face James. "I'm sorry I can't be the son you want. It's just…"

James didn't let Jason go on. He wrapped Jason in a tight hug. "Jason, I don't want anything more than spend time with you and get to know the incredible young man you are becoming."

Trying to lighten the mood, James added "Now what say we have another duel but no freebies this time?"

"You're on." Jason laughed relieved to move past the awkward situation.

**June 29****th****, 19****9****3****Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry UK**

The second year at Hogwarts was no less exciting for Thomas than his first year. Sadly, Thomas continued to build on the bad reputation he had established for himself in his first year. By making use of his status as the Boy-Who-Lived, he forced Katie Bell, a chaser for the Gryffindor quidditch team off so that he could take her place. In fact, with this one move, he had accomplished something he'd been unable to do the previous year. He turned virtually the entire Gryffindor house against him.

The house may have been willing to overlook what he did eventually but it was not to be. His father may have been a star chaser and team captain in his day but apparently Thomas hadn't inherited his talent. There was no questioning his flying ability but his personality kept getting in the way of his playing. He insisted on taking the spotlight and refused to pass the quaffle. As a result, Gryffindor lost their first match to Hufflepuff in a spectacular manner and ended up coming in last place for the year.

Around the same time as his first game, strange incidents began to occur in the school. First the caretaker's cat was petrified. Then whatever it was decided to move onto students. Like the first year, Albus was completely aware of what was going on. The school wards had immediately detected the dark object, a diary, as soon as it was brought onto school grounds. It was his hope that this year Thomas would show some of the skills that would be necessary for him to defeat Voldemort when he rose once again.

Lily began to question Dumbledore's leadership for the first time after the attacks on the students began. She was concerned about her son; the Boy-Who-Lived needed a safe environment in which to learn. He shouldn't be subjected to all the stresses brought about by the supposed Heir of Slytherin and the attack.

Unlike Lily, Thomas loved the spectacle caused by the attacks. The newspapers were all over Hogwarts, giving him even more attention than the previous year. So lost was he in his own glory that he failed to take note when the headlines began to change from praise to condemnation because he was doing nothing to stop the attacks.

Things began to escalate until finally Dumbledore was removed from his position as Headmaster. But he felt he couldn't leave. Thomas could be hurt or even killed if he wasn't monitored so Dumbledore, with the help of Fawkes managed to stay in one of the unoccupied guest quarters.

At the end of the year, young Ginny Weasley disappeared into the Chamber of Secrets. Normally, this would have been dire news but Dumbledore was hopeful when Thomas and his friends managed to find the already opened entrance to the Chamber of Secrets in a long disused girl's bathroom. Perhaps Thomas was finally coming into his own. Sadly, his hopes were quickly dashed when the shade of a 16 year old Tom Riddle rapidly brought Thomas to his knees.

Again, Dumbledore was forced to step in and save the Boy-Who-Lived from certain death. The doubt at the back of his mind that began the previous year was stronger now. Was it possible that Thomas wasn't the Boy-Who-Lived? But if that was the case, who was the Chosen One? Neville Longbottom was a genius when it came to herbology but was otherwise an unremarkable wizard. The only other possibility was the younger Potter twin, but he hadn't been seen since that night all those years ago. Even if he was still alive, Dumbledore had no idea where he was or who had raised him. Sighing, he looked down at the unconscious boy. For now he could only hope that Thomas was the Chosen One but he would keep his eyes open.

**August****14****th****, 19****95****Suffolk UK**

Jason was 15 now. His birthday had been legally changed back to July 31st after learning of it from James. School was going well, Jason wasn't the top of his class but he was near enough that grades wouldn't be a barrier to whatever college he ended up going to. His magical training was stepping up too. About halfway through the year, James began bringing Jason to the Department of Mysteries so he could train with a few of his fellow agents.

After the school year was done, Jason had a well-deserved vacation. He spent the entire month of July in the US playing baseball at an All-Star Camp. It had been a combined birthday present from John and James. He had been so excited because it gave him the opportunity to learn from players in the major leagues.

On the first day, the kids were sorted into groups based on age, skill, and position. In the UK, Jason was considered one of the top first baseman for his age group, but he didn't expect that to carry over to the US, because honestly there wasn't a lot of competition. So it came as a surprise when he found himself in the top skill group for his age.

Jason found it was easy to make friends and his accent ended up being a great ice breaker. It always drew some attention and had people wondering why he played baseball until he explained that his parents were American. The highlight of the camp for him was playing with Mark Grace, the first baseman for the Chicago Cubs. Like all good things, before he knew it the month was over and he was on a plane back to the UK.

What he didn't realize until he was back in the UK was that the entire time he hadn't had a single dream. At least not one he could remember anyway. After so long now, they didn't disturb him the way they used to but he still couldn't understand what they trying to show him. He'd managed to learn enough of the written language so that he could at least get a general sense of what he was reading even if he didn't understand every word. In a moment of insight, he was able to begin learning of some of the spoken language as well when he tied the holographic lecturer to what he was reading. It was very slow going but he was making progress.

The other dream, the history lesson, as he came to think of it was the dream he still dreaded somewhat. It had become steadily darker. Whoever the inhabitants of the city were, it was obvious that they were losing the war badly. The people themselves were beginning to fracture. In the beginning they seemed to be unified in how the war was fought, but lately they seemed to be fighting with each other almost as much as they were fighting with the enemy.

Shortly after his return, John walked into his bedroom looking unusually proud of himself.

"Ok, I'm not sure I want to know what has you smiling like that." Jason said from his place on the bed.

"What, can't I bask in the awesomeness of my birthday present?" John asked affronted. He pulled out a chair from Jason's desk and plopped himself down into it.

John had been gone for close to a year but when he came back, Jason moved back in with him. James however had decided to stay in Suffolk to be closer to Jason.

John's laugh was infectious and soon Jason joined him after first rolling his eyes at his older brother. Not that he would admit it out loud, but his brother did get him the best birthday presents. "So what's up?"

"Well, I thought you might like to join me at a little ceremony this coming weekend." Said John casually.

All Jason did was groan. A ceremony meant he had to get dressed up and he hated wearing a suit. "Do I have to?"

John faked a hurt expression. "I guess it doesn't matter if my little brother isn't there to see me get promoted to Captain. It's not like it's a big deal or anything."

"Really? Captain already?! Wow John, that's great!" Jason gushed. It was true, there was still a bit of hero worship going on with his older brother. Now he was no expert on military protocol but knew that it was pretty unusual to make Captain so quickly. So he knew his brother must be pretty damn good.

"Does that mean you want to go now?" John couldn't help teasing a little.

"Why didn't you say so? Of course I'll be there!" Then Jason was off his bed and rummaging through his closet trying to find his suit. It was only a few months old so it should still fit. Holding it up, he asked "Do you think it needs to be pressed? I don't want to embarrass you."

"Hey, you could never embarrass me." He couldn't stop his eyes from roving over the suit though. "Still, it could probably stand to be pressed. We want you to look you best for any of the teenage girls that may be on hand."

"John!" Jason yelled as John ran from the room.

**August 14****th****, 19****95****Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & ****Wizardry**** UK**

After a fairly uneventful third year, Thomas found his fourth year to be the worst year yet. Despite a promising start when the Headmaster announced that Hogwarts would be hosting the Tri-Wizard Tournament, things rapidly degenerated.

The students had just begun to warm up to him again after third year. Everyone seemed thankful to simply have a quiet year for a change. Plus, it helped that for once, Thomas tried to stay low profile after the disasters of his first two years. Even his quidditch had improved; he learned to be more of a team player. This more than anything helped his standing in his house. But all that good will was lost when the Goblet of Fire spit out a fourth name as a champion in the tournament.

Fleur Delacour, Viktor Krum, and Cedric Diggory had all been chosen as champions representing their respective schools. The students in the hall had just started to celebrate when a new name burst forth from the goblet. Even Dumbledore looked disappointed when he read the name and announced that Thomas Potter would be a champion as well.

Lily was furious. She flooed over to Albus' office as soon as she read the story in the Daily Prophet.

"Albus, what game are you playing at? Thomas should not be in this tournament." She practically screamed at him.

"Lily, it's a pleasure to see you this morning."

Her angry pacing stopped for a moment and she glared at her former Headmaster. Her green eyes had darkened with anger. "How could you allow this to happen? You promised me that he would be safe!"

There was only so much screeching that Albus could take in the morning. So Albus let go of his magic and felt it radiate off him in waves. "I've given you much leeway over the years but don't forget your place Lily Evans." Albus said.

The feeling of power overwhelmed her and for the first time in many years, Lily found herself cowed. "I apologize Albus. I am just so distraught. Is there anything that can be done to help Thomas? My little boy is not ready for something so difficult."

On that Albus had to agree. He wasn't sure that Thomas would ever be ready for something like the Tri-Wizard Tournament. "Of course, I will give Thomas some private tutoring. It must be kept secret though because it could be viewed as an unfair advantage by the other champions."

He watched as Lily finally was calm enough to sit down in one his chairs like a rational adult. "Pardon me Lily, but something else appears to be upsetting you."

"You knew didn't you?" Accused Lily, her temper once more rising. "You knew that brat was still alive!"

It took a moment for Albus to realize what brat Lily was referring to. After all, he was the Headmaster of a school of brats. There was only one brat that Lily would allow to upset her this much. "Harry? Are you saying that Harry is alive?" This could be the answer to his prayers if Thomas turned out not to be the Chosen One, than it would have to be Harry.

"Who else would I be talking about? The ungrateful cretin actually had the gall to send me a letter. As if I care that he's alive. He probably just wants to leech off his brother's reputation."

"But how did he find out you're his mother? Surely he disappeared before he had any conscious memory of you as his family." Albus was confused and this annoying woman was not exactly forthcoming with the information he needed.

She sniffed "As if he would be smart enough to remember such a thing. No, James somehow found the wretch. Who knows what lies he told him, but he sent me a letter asking if I would like to meet. I was glad he was dead, why would I want to meet him now? Especially since he must be a squib if he is not here at Hogwarts."

"Quite right, why disrupt things now?" Albus asked rhetorically. He would have to investigate this. Hopefully the boy was not a squib. It was possible he attended a different school or possibly was home schooled.

Lily left not long after, content in the knowledge that Albus would begin tutoring Thomas personally. In her mind, this was just another sign of her boy's potential. Too bad she couldn't lord it over her friends, they would die with envy.

At the same time that the students once again turned their backs on Thomas, the Wizarding World sang his praises. The general opinion held that if the Goblet was going to spit out a fourth name, then surely that person must be worthy and capable of great things. It was this outlook that supported Thomas when no one other than Seamus, Parvati or Albus would even look at him.

With the private tutoring and advanced information, Thomas was able to muddle his way through the first two tasks. Against all odds, he managed to make it through to the third task in second place overall. In his mind it should've been first place but the judges were prejudiced against him as the fourth champion.

Somehow he made it through the labyrinth of the third task relatively unharmed. He was nearly at the center of the maze. The cup was visible on a brightly lit pedestal in the exact center. Then his blood chilled, Cedric was almost at the cup. No, he wouldn't let some Hufflepuff steal his glory. Too much work had gone into getting him here. Without a moment's thought, he unknowingly cast the spell that would save Cedric's life.

After stunning Cedric, Thomas moved without guilt or hesitation and grabbed the cup. Instead of being announced as the winner of the tournament, he was transported to a decrepit cemetery where he was quickly restrained by Peter Pettigrew. In horror, he watched as Peter completed a ritual to bring Voldemort back to full health using Thomas' blood.

"Ahh, the wizarding world's would-be savior, Thomas Potter. I must thank you for donating some of your blood." The newly embodied Lord Voldemort strode menacingly over towards Thomas until he was close enough to run one long boney finger down the side of Thomas' face. "It isn't here. Where is it?" Voldemort muttered.

"What isn't here my lord?" Pettigrew asked, moving up to stand next to his lord.

Voldemort felt the connection to each of his horcruxes; he could sense each of them. After all, each horcrux contained a portion of his soul. In his haste to unravel this mystery he didn't think to check the location of his other horcruxes only their basic existence. No, this wasn't possible. Three of them were missing. Nagini, his diary and the boy were gone. That could only mean that this wasn't the boy he'd attacked. The backlash of his spell had damaged his memory from that night so he'd always assumed that Dumbledore had gotten it right. But now, now he would have to investigate this to determine if the boy was indeed dead or merely hidden from him in some way.

While searching within himself Voldemort realized there was an unintended side effect of the ritual performed. There seemed to be a link between him and the Potter boy. It was different in nature than sharing a piece of his soul; it seemed to be more of a physical connection. If he was correct in his assumptions that he would be able to torture the wizarding world's savior from anywhere. True the connection would work in both directions, but Dumbledore would never put his precious Boy-Who-Lived at risk.

"Release him Wormtail. Let the pitiful boy spread the news of my return." Voldemort said with a cold laugh before apparating away.

**August 14****th****, 19****96****Suffolk UK**

Life continued on for Jason Sheppard. He had just finished his sophomore year of high school. Since there was a large contingent of American kids on the base, the school he attended was modeled after the US school system.

In the non-magical world, things had settled into a routine. Jason was a rarity in his school. He was popular and excelled in academics as well as being the starting first baseman for his varsity team. Consequently, he crossed cliques having friends in both circles. His Aikido training continued but rather than serving as an escape mechanism it was something that he and John could do together.

If only his life in the magical world were as simple. Shortly after the beginning of the new school year, Jason had come home to find John and James arguing.

"He has a right to know!" John said sharply. "I don't want him to get hurt because he didn't know what was going on."

"He's too young. It's just going to worry him." James argued.

"Then it's a good thing it isn't your decision to make. I'm his legal guardian, so I will be the one to decide what he needs to know." John didn't like pulling the guardian card because he felt like it was throwing Jason's adoption back into his face. But the fact of the matter was that John was in charge.

Jason thought it might be a good idea to step in at this point before tempers flared any higher. Putting his backpack down next to the door, he asked "What would worry me?"

Both John and James jumped at the sound of Jason's voice.

John gave James a hard look before explaining. "James has just been bringing me up to speed on current events in the wizarding world. He has some things that you need to hear."

James watched as Jason came into the room and sat down on the sofa next to John. He ran his hand tiredly across his face before beginning. "The Department of Mysteries has determined that Voldemort has returned."

"You mean Thomas was telling the truth? Then why is the Daily Prophet calling him crazy?"

"Our _esteemed_ Minister, Fudge, would rather hide his head in the sand than admit that Voldemort is back. He's using his contacts at the Daily Prophet to run a smear campaign against your brother and Dumbledore. So far it seems to be working."

James stopped there which left Jason a little confused. If this was the news, then why were they arguing? None of it really affected him directly unless Voldemort decided to start attacking the muggle military. From what he read the man was brutal but not an idiot.

John scowled when James stopped. "That's not all that James has to share with us."

James gave in. "Do you remember when I mentioned a prophecy to you?" When Jason nodded, he continued. "Dumbledore thinks your brother is the one mentioned in the prophecy. However, we don't agree."

"Who's we?" Jason asked.

John got up and walked into the kitchen while James began explaining again. "The Unspeakables. Look, um…if it isn't your brother, there is only one other possibility."

It was with a sinking feeling that Jason asked "Who's the other possibility?"

John chose that moment to walk in with a beer and handed one to James. "Tell him."

"You, you're the only other one that Voldemort could have 'marked' before his body was destroyed. Ok, let's take this from the beginning." James went on to describe the prophecy and the method for Voldemort's immortality, specifically the creation of his horcruxes.

"That's really fucked up." John said succinctly.

James swallowed half the beer before going on. "We think that the night of the attack Voldemort inadvertently made you one of his horcruxes."

Jason paled at the very thought that he might have part of Voldemort's soul in him.

"No whatever your uncle Jack did to help you that night destroyed Voldemort's soul. There is no trace of it or any link to him in you at all."

Both Jason and John sagged back into the couch in relief. "How many does he have?"

For the first time since he began his explanation, James smiled. "Including you, he had six. However, once we finished celebrating his downfall, we began searching for any trace of him using the same spell I used to find you. We never found any evidence of the man himself but we did find evidence of 5 objects infused with his signature, one of which was his familiar, a massive anaconda."

"So do you have all of these horcrux things?" Asked John. This wasn't a battle he could fight for Jason but he would make damn sure that he had as many advantages as possible.

"The snake is dead and one of the others was destroyed back in mid '93. The remaining 3 are in our custody, we're not sure what to do with them just yet."

James continued on explaining why they felt that Jason was more likely to be the one mentioned in the prophecy. Essentially it boiled down to the fact that Thomas appeared to be nothing more than an average wizard. He'd yet to show any signs of having any extraordinary power or talents that would set him apart. Jason on the other had while being above average in power had shown himself to be extremely capable in free form magic as they had taken to calling what he did.

To help put both Jason and John at ease James told them that the resources of the Department were searching for the best way to destroy Voldemort so that Jason would not be at risk. The downside was that his magic training was stepped up as well so he spent a large amount of his free time with James and the other agents. But, the training was more for protection from Voldemort's men should Jason be found. Croaker and others felt that Voldemort simply had too much power and experience to be defeated in battle by a teenager, no matter how talented.

During a tour of the Department of Mysteries one day in early October Jason saw something that made him think he was dreaming. They had been walking through the Death Chamber when he saw it, an ancient arch with a tattered curtain hanging from it. But it wasn't the arch that took him by surprise; it was the writing on the arch. It was the same as the writing in the city that he saw virtually every night now.

"What is that?"

"That's the Veil; we think it is a one way door into the land of the dead. The Ministry used to use it as a method of execution for criminals because anyone that passes through it dies and can never return."

Jason couldn't take his eyes off the arch. He knew that what James said was only partially right. It wasn't that it was wrong, but Jason knew that it did more. It was a like one half of a pair, it was set to connect to only to its twin wherever that may be. The characters on the arch seemed to designate the activation sequence necessary to create the bridge to the second Veil. But right now it was in its default position, which was set to nowhere. In its current setting, anything that passed through the arch would be destroyed.

"Ummm dad?" Jason said distractedly.

James stopped abruptly. Did Jason just call him dad? He'd always hoped Jason would feel comfortable enough with him one day to consider him a father but he never expected it to happen. "Yeah Jason." He said his voice thick with emotion.

Jason didn't realize what he had called James so he asked his question. "If the Veil sends everything to the land of the dead, why not throw the horcruxes through. Voldemort's soul wouldn't be anchored here anymore then." As much as he wanted to, he stopped himself from rolling his eyes. Some of the things that wizards came up with truly amazed him.

"Huh?" James was still trying to process the fact that Jason had called him dad.

"What's wrong with you?"

"You called me dad." Said James.

Now it was Jason who looked flustered when he remembered what he'd said. "Oh, I guess…I don't know it just slipped out. Do you mind?"

James just shook his head emphatically. "God no." Before Jason could pull away, James had grabbed him in a tight hug. "Umm, so what was your question again?"

Jason laughed and repeated it. For his part, James looked gob smacked. It wasn't something that they'd ever considered before and on the surface it appeared to be such a simple solution.

With Jason's idea in mind, the Unspeakables spent the next few months trying to determine if there was a downside to sending the horcruxes through the Veil. Given the nature of the work, it was mostly theoretical but in the end, everyone agreed that even if they weren't destroyed when they passed into the Veil, they would no longer be on Earth so if Voldemort were to die, his soul would be tethered to the land of the dead which is where he should be anyway.

By the end of Jason's sophomore year and near the anniversary of Voldemort's return, the Unspeakables eradicated the remaining fragments of Voldemort's soul. Thus, the Dark Lord was stripped of his immortality without any loss of life.

Despite the success with the horcruxes, Jason was still troubled. Since he had seen the Veil, his dreams had grown more urgent. It almost felt like the city was calling out to him and somehow it was connected to the Veil. Now he just needed to figure out what to do.

**August 14****th****, 19****96****Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry**** UK**

The summer following the Tri-Wizard Tournament, Albus called the Order of the Phoenix together again for the first time since Voldemort's disappearance in 1981. It was also the first time since their divorce that James and Lily were in the same room.

"My friends, I wish we could come together in better circumstances." Albus began the meeting. "It is as I feared, Voldemort has returned."

James rolled his eyes when most of the other members flinched at the mere mention of the man's name. There were times that James wondered why he even bothered with this group, it was an effort for James to even pay attention, and Albus had a tendency to ramble even at the best of times and now was no exception. Though it took him close to an hour to get to the point, Albus finally said that for now people should be on the lookout for Death Eater activity but there was nothing else to be done.

After the meeting broke up, Lily cornered James. "So you found that useless son of yours."

Taken aback by her snide tone, James was lost. He had no idea that Jason had tried to contact Lily. "What? I'm not sure what you talking about."

"Harry, unless you have some other son I'm not aware of."

"I don't see why you would care, but I found him 4 years ago. God Lily you should see him, he is a great kid." James stopped himself when saw that Lily didn't care at all. "How did you know?"

"He had the nerve to send me a letter. As if I would ever want to meet with him." Her voice had sunk from snide into outright hostility. "I don't know what lies you've told him, but keep him away from Thomas and I."

Even after all this time, Lily still hadn't changed. How could he have been so wrong about her? As far as he was concerned the only good thing to come from his marriage had been Jason. Before the argument could escalate any further, Albus came over to speak with them.

"James, Lily I was looking for you." Albus motioned for the two to sit down. When they were both seated, he explained his suspicions. "I'm concerned about Thomas. After he escaped from Voldemort at the end of the tournament, I examined Thomas personally."

Lily leaned forward worriedly. "What is it Albus? Is there something wrong with Thomas?"

While Lily showed a mother's concern, James remained impassive. In truth, he cared little for his son. He had grown into a person that he simply couldn't abide.

"I fear that the ritual used to return Voldemort to his body has created a physical link between Thomas and Voldemort. I suspect that Voldemort can use that link to physically harm Thomas. Now you shouldn't worry too much because it would also affect Voldemort as well but as his parents you need to be aware of the dangers."

"Albus, can't you break it?"

James asked the more pertinent question. "What happens if Voldemort is killed?"

"I hope that we can find some way to break the connection, which is why I included James. It is my thought that with the resources of the Department of Mysteries involved we should be able to find a way to sever the link. But if we don't than Thomas may very well die along with Voldemort."

His eldest son may not be someone he was proud of but that didn't mean that James was willing to let him die. He promised to speak to the head of the Department.

Per Albus' instructions, they did not relay any of this information to Thomas.

The specter of Voldemort was hanging over Thomas when he entered Hogwarts for the beginning of his fifth year. Whereas in the past the students had been cold or distant from Thomas, this year with the smear campaign running in the Daily Prophet many of the students were openly hostile. Few if any believed his claims that Voldemort had returned. His credibility was not helped by the fact that virtually all of the returning students knew he'd shot Cedric in the back. Even Seamus and Parvati had distanced themselves from him, having grown tired of being isolated from the rest of the school.

This year the Ministry stepped into the running of Hogwarts with the introduction of Dolores Umbridge as the DADA professor. In addition to tormenting Thomas throughout the year, she cemented Ministry control of Hogwarts resulting in the eventual sacking of Albus Dumbledore as Headmaster. In her new position as Headmistress, Dolores convinced the students that either Voldemort's return was a stunt orchestrated by Thomas and Dumbledore or to remain silent if they truly believed that Voldemort had returned.

By late March Lily had had enough. The Ministry campaign had started to spill over from Thomas onto her. She was becoming the laughing stock of the British wizarding world. On the last Saturday of March, Lily came to speak with Thomas during the Hogsmeade weekend.

"Thomas this can't go on." Lily said after erecting some privacy wards around their table in the Three Broomsticks.

"What can't mom?"

"You're the Boy-Who-Lived. The Ministry and the people should respect that. But after today that won't be an issue." Lily finished before standing and cancelling the wards.

"But mom how are we going to do that?" Thomas wanted nothing more than to have the students like him again. He was tired of being an outcast.

"Grab my hand." She ordered holding out her hand. When Thomas grabbed on, she apparated both of them to the Ministry of Magic.

Lily gave a brief thought to casting a glamour on Thomas to disguise his identity but decided against it. The wards would detect the glamour and raise an alert. The entry hall was virtually empty since it was a Saturday; the only floor likely to have any significant number of people was the DMLE.

"Mom, where are we going? How is this going to help?" Thomas whined.

"Stop whining! We're going to the Hall of Prophecies." She snapped impatiently while waiting for the elevator to arrive. Once they were both inside she pressed 9 for the Department of Mysteries.

"What good will that do?" He was craning his neck trying to see everything that was in the department. There were strange devices and pictures of creatures dotted all over the main chamber. Thomas would've stopped to look more closely if Lily hadn't been dragging him along.

"There's a prophecy that proclaims you as the Chosen One, the equal of Voldemort. Once we make it public, the Ministry and the wizarding world in general will give you the respect you deserve."

After walking a ways, Thomas and his mother found themselves standing in front of a heavy wooden door now. There was a banner over the door announcing it as the Hall of Prophecies. "Isn't there some sort of protection on them? I remember Flitwick mentioning the charm in one of our classes this year."

They were inside now. Lily was scanning the many shelves which were lined with opaque glass spheres that were labeled with various initials to designate the prophecy and the parties involved. "Yes, yes if you aren't a part of the prophecy, you'll be driven insane. But since you are the Boy-Who-Lived you don't have to worry about anything."

"Are you sure? I mean what if it's someone else." Thomas asked nervously. He was having second thoughts about this now; he didn't want to go insane.

"Nonsense, of course it's you. Ahh, here it is." Lily pointed to sphere that was clearly labeled SPT to APWBD. Beneath that there were more letters DLV, BWL – JS.

Trusting his mother, Thomas reached up and grabbed the prophecy.


	3. The Downfall of Pride

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

**A/N: ****Again, I have to say thanks to everyone who reviewed. I'm wowed by the response.**

**Chapter ****3****Downfall of Pride**

**March 30****th****, 19****96****Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry**** UK**

Thomas stopped just before he grabbed the sphere. "Mom, what are these initials?" He wondered why the initials were JS and not TP.

Lily snapped impatiently. "Thomas just grab the prophecy and all this will be over." She wanted to get this done quickly before someone came along and tried to stop them.

"But…"

"Now Thomas!"

Swallowing nervously, Thomas closed his eyes and grabbed the fragile glass sphere. At first Thomas didn't realize what was happening. Colors and sounds began flashing through his mind. His senses were overwhelmed by the images that were clamoring for his attention. He struggled to bring one image to the front of everything to concentrate on it and shut everything else out. As soon as it began to come into focus, it would flash away replaced once more by the unending stream assaulting him.

To Lily, Thomas looked ok for a moment. Then his outstretched arm began to sag and he made no further movements. A cold pit grew in her stomach and she grasped his shoulder to spin him around. Once her mind processed what she was witnessing, Lily screamed for help. She knew she'd just made the worst mistake of her life. Thomas was facing her with his arm still outstretched but his face said it all. His mouth was hanging open slightly with a thin line of drool just beginning to form. While the lack of expression was frightening enough, it was his eyes that terrified her. They were empty; his eyes weren't looking out onto the world. His eyes weren't looking out onto anything.

A few minutes passed before her screams attracted the attention of one of the few Unspeakables that was in the office that weekend. The man came running into the room to see who was screaming bloody murder. He was surprised to find that the screams were coming from the Hall of Prophecies. The man skidded to a halt at the entrance to the Hall when he saw two people; one was an attractive red head that he recognized from the papers. The second was none-other than the Boy-Who-Lived, Thomas Potter.

It didn't take him long to figure out what had happened. For some fool reason Lily Potter had convinced her son to grab a prophecy that he wasn't associated with. The ancient charms that were used to protect the prophecies had obviously struck him down.

"I'm sorry ma'am; we're going to need to take your son to St. Mungo's. They will be able to make sure he is well cared for." He told Lily after spending a brief moment examining Thomas.

"What do you mean well cared for? There must be some mistake! Thomas is the Boy-Who-Lived, he is the Chosen One! Someone must have tampered with that prophecy." She accused the man desperately.

The Unspeakable raised the alarm for medical aid before he turned back to Lily. "There is no way to tamper with those prophecies ma'am. Even Voldemort would leave them alone if he wasn't one of the affected parties."

"Can't you reverse it? What will everyone say?" Lily was worried about Thomas of course but she was also considering how this was going to affect her socially. It was going to be a disaster. Her only hope would be if she could somehow manage to keep it from the Daily Prophet but the likelihood of that was extremely low given that Thomas would be in St. Mungo's.

"There's nothing that we can do." The man said sympathetically. "What were you doing here on a Saturday anyway?"

Lily stammered, unprepared for the question. She couldn't let the man think that she was at fault; it would only worsen things for her. "It…it was Thomas. He was hoping that the prophecy would unite the wizarding world. I…I tried to stop him, to warn him but he wouldn't listen to me." By the end, Lily had broken down into tears. Surprisingly the tears were real but they were for her situation, not her son's.

From what he had read in the Daily Prophet, the Boy-Who-Lived wasn't smart enough or motivated enough to come up with this plan. No he'd put his money on Lily Potter as the mastermind behind this.

Soon enough help arrived and after assessing Thomas' condition, they had him brought to St. Mungo's. At St. Mungo's the situation degenerated rapidly. Any hope that Lily had of keeping Thomas' condition a secret went out the door as soon as a nurse recognized him. It seemed that despite the smear campaign, people still felt more comfortable knowing that their savior would be around when he was needed. But if he was insane, than now they would be stuck dealing with their own messes.

Lily spent the rest of the day at St. Mungo's playing the role of worried mother. She was using that time to try and keep things from spiraling further out of her control.

The next day while eating breakfast Lily got physically ill when she read the headline of the Daily Prophet. There, splashed across the front page 'Thomas Potter, supposed Boy-Who-Lived, is a fraud!' She would never live this down.

At Hogwarts later that same day, Albus was pacing furiously back and forth in his office. Little sparks of magic were flaring around him almost as a physical expression of his anger. He needed to calm down before leaving for the Order of the Phoenix meeting scheduled to start soon. All of his work and plans were useless now. That vain and foolish woman had cost the wizarding world their savior. Now he would have to convince James that it was in his best interests to have Harry brought to Hogwarts so that he could be trained. Given their arguments in the past regarding Harry, he rather doubted that James would want Harry to die facing Voldemort. Voldemort, now he was an even bigger threat than before. Hopefully, Voldemort would hold off long enough for Harry to learn what he needed to in order to win or at a minimum until Albus was able to find his horcruxes and destroy them. Without them, Voldemort would be mortal and less likely to launch any risky attacks.

By the time Albus arrived in the Room of Requirement, he had calmed down enough that he wouldn't be scaring any of his followers. Despite that, he wasn't up to dealing with people just yet so he quickly called the meeting to order. He began on their only real piece of business to discuss, the fate of Thomas Potter.

When Albus confirmed that Thomas Potter was in the long term spell damage ward of St. Mungo's, the wails of some of the Order members could be heard throughout the castle. Now Albus was not so foolish as to have disclosed the contents of the prophecy to everyone, but it had been assumed by most if not all of the British wizarding world that Thomas would be the one to save them from Voldemort.

It took some doing but Albus was finally able to restore some semblance of order to the meeting. When everyone was quiet once again, Albus told them that if the prophecy did not refer to Thomas than their savior was still out there, waiting to be found. The turnaround in attitudes and demeanors could not have been more drastic. Wizards and witches that had been on the verge of giving up mere moments ago were now chomping at the bit to leave and begin searching for someone to save them from Voldemort. It never occurred to any of them that perhaps they could simply stand up to Voldemort rather than hide behind a child.

James and Lily stayed behind to discuss Thomas' condition with Albus once the meeting was concluded.

The door closed leaving the three alone in the Room of Requirements. Seeing that they were alone, James rounded on Lily and practically screamed at her "I can't believe you! What on Earth possessed you to do something so stupid?!"

"You saw the papers; they were trying to make Thomas sound crazy. I couldn't let them do that to him." Lily screamed right back at him.

"And the fact that you were becoming the laughingstock of the social scene had absolutely nothing to do with it?" James asked sarcastically.

Lily's flush was enough of an answer for both James and Albus.

For the first time since Voldemort attacked the Potters, Albus found himself agreeing with James. "He's right you stupid, vain woman. You've just consigned Thomas to a life of madness. What would you've done if Thomas had been the one mentioned in the prophecy? Would you've let everyone hear it so that Voldemort could know exactly what he was facing?"

Lily didn't flush this time but she took long enough answering that again both men knew that Albus had predicted her actions perfectly.

"Well, I suppose I should be happy it isn't Thomas then because you could've cost us everything with that stupid stunt!" Albus' tone had changed from angry to icy. "As pleasant as this conversation is though, it is not why I stayed behind to speak with you two."

James swallowed his anger because he had a sinking suspicion about the intended topic. "What do you want to discuss?"

Oh how Albus wished that he could dose James with something to make him more pliable, but chances are it would only backfire on him. "I think you know James. Lily told me about the letter she received."

"You can't seriously expect me to believe that the squib bastard is the Chosen One?" Lily screeched. There was no way that she would allow James the satisfaction of seeing his precious Harry paraded in front of the wizarding world.

"Lily, shut the fuck up right now! I am sick and tired of your bullshit! If it wasn't for you Thomas would be fine and healthy! Instead he's stuck in St. Mungo's possibly for the rest of his life. And what was it all for? All because you couldn't stand not being on the front page anymore, all because you couldn't stand having the spotlight on someone else. Well you better get fucking used to it because now that the truth is out people are going to see you for what you, a selfish, ignorant bitch who's only claim to fame was her son."

"You…you can't talk to me like that, I'm the mother of…" Her voice trailed off as the implications truly began to sink in.

Albus didn't even glance at Lily. She was useless to him now; it was clear from her behavior that she had not been in contact with Harry since she received the initial letter. "James, I fear I made a grave mistake all those years ago. Now, after Lily's calamitous actions, I can only assume that Harry must be the Chosen One."

James nodded in agreement. There was no sense in arguing the matter and it may make Albus less suspicious of him.

Relief, that's what he felt when James agreed with him so quickly. Perhaps this wouldn't be as difficult as he feared. "Then I'm sure you will agree that Harry should come to Hogwarts so he can be trained properly. He must be prepared to face Voldemort."

"There's a big problem with that Albus, Harry doesn't want to come to Hogwarts." Said James matter of factly.

Lily snorted "See he's a squib, he knows he doesn't belong."

Both Albus and James glared at Lily, forcing her to shut up and back down. "As his parent, I believe that it is your decision to make not his."

"I may be his biological father, but Harry has another guardian from the family that adopted him and I doubt they would force him to come here." Explained James

"But why wouldn't he want to come to Hogwarts? It is the greatest magical institute in the world." The confusion that Albus felt was evident in his voice and on his face.

Now James laughed as he remembered how John had explained it to him. "Apparently he took one look at Diagon Alley and decided he would rather stay with his friends. All he will say is that he wasn't impressed."

Albus frowned, pulled a chocolate candy from within his robes and popped it into his mouth. "I'm sure I can have the adoption overturned, clearly his family is keeping him from learning more about the magical world and mastering his birthright."

"No Albus, I think you misunderstand. His family isn't keeping him from the magical world; he just didn't want to leave the muggle world. In regards to mastering his birthright, I've been training him for the last five years. And if you don't think that's good enough, he's been training with other agents from the Department of Mysteries as well to make sure he would have a well rounded education."

That news brought Albus up short and wiped the smirk right off of Lily's face. Both were thinking that the boy must be powerful and talented if the Unspeakables were willing to train him.

One the one hand, he wouldn't have a protégé to guide the wizarding world when he was gone, but on the other hand the boy surely must have a better chance of defeating Voldemort than Thomas. Still perhaps he could persuade the boy to his way of thinking but in order to do so he would still need to have him in Hogwarts.

James held up his hand to stop whatever it was that Albus was about to say. "I'll speak with Harry and his family, but ultimately it is their decision." Glancing at Lily scornfully James asked a question "Albus is it possible that Thomas' condition will affect Voldemort as well? Before you speculated that the link would work both ways."

It was something Albus hadn't considered. "I've sent Severus to see how Voldemort reacted to the news, hopefully he will return soon with something positive to report. In truth it is not something I'd considered but it is quite possible that Voldemort will be incapacitated for as long as Thomas is. Unfortunately, we still need to determine his method for achieving immortality before we could take action." Albus wasn't willing to share his knowledge of the horcruxes just yet. It's possible that the knowledge could be used as leverage to bring Harry to Hogwarts.

"And break his link to Thomas." James added. It was bad enough that his son was now insane but as things stood now they would be killing him when they eliminated Voldemort. Like he was doing with the subject of Harry, James felt it best to leave Albus in the dark regarding certain details such as the horcruxes. There was no telling the lengths the man would go to in order to secure them or end the threat of Voldemort. James wouldn't put it past him to sacrifice Thomas in order to weaken or kill Voldemort if he knew that the horcruxes were gone.

"Of course, of course, I would never do anything to harm Thomas. Please stress the importance of coming here when you speak with Harry. I'm sure there is still much we could teach him." Said Albus.

"I'll let you know what he says." On his way out, James glared at Lily a final time.

With James gone Lily turn to Albus "Albus you can't let Harry steal Thomas' spotlight. I don't care what James says the boy is worthless. Surely you can do something to remove the curse." Harry would never accept her back, not after the letter she had sent in reply. Perhaps she shouldn't have burned her bridges with him, but really what was he thinking by contacting her.

"My patience for you has long run out Lily. As a former Head Girl I would've thought you to be bright enough to understand that Thomas was the one stealing Harry's spotlight. If he had truly been the Boy-Who-Lived than the prophecy wouldn't have driven him mad. No, Harry did something that night to protect all of you. Instead of whining, you should be trying to build a relationship with your other son."

Lily refused to acknowledge the truth of his words. "No, he isn't my son. I refuse to have anything to do with him!"

"Then there is nothing I can do for you. I believe the muggles have a saying 'Be careful who you step on on your way up because you'll see them on the way down.' I think you've stepped on a great many people Lily." With that, Albus left in a swirl of robes leaving Lily to contemplate her rather bleak future.

James briefly considered stopping to speak with Jason and John that evening but ultimately decided that it was too late. Since the following day was a Monday, James waited until dinner before heading over.

"John why didn't you say anything? Why did they promote you so quickly?" Jason asked, not even looking up from his dinner.

John leaned back in his chair and took a long swallow of beer before answering. "It's a promotion in name only. Sure I saved those men but my superiors see is that I violated orders to do so."

Jason clenched his fork so tightly that his knuckles started to turn white. It wasn't fair; he knew his brother wouldn't have put people at risk. "But that's not fair! You said they would've died if you didn't go back."

"Hey, I wouldn't have gotten the promotion of if the men weren't related to some VIPs. See that's part of the problem, I probably would've gotten off with a slap on the wrist but their relatives are making a stink so they were forced to promote me." The only thing that his superiors could do was to go along with the promotion. He knew that he would be getting every shit assignment that came along from now on too.

"That sucks John."

James chose that moment to walk in. When Jason had started to live with him periodically, James had been given a key to their place as well.

"I don't think I'm going to like whatever it is you have to say." John said blandly before finishing his beer. "Am I going to need another of these?" He asked holding up the empty bottle.

James shook his head and plopped himself down into the open chair at the table.

Jason didn't miss the greedy look in James' eyes when he looked at the steak on his plate. "No way, you may be my dad but that doesn't mean you get to eat my steak." To emphasize his point, he put one of his arms in front of the plate protecting it from James.

John quickly did the same thing after getting another beer. "I'm with him."

Grumbling, James stood again and started to root through their cabinets looking for something to eat. Finally, he ended up grabbing an apple from the counter and sat back down. After staring at the apple balefully for a moment he described the events of the Order meeting and Albus' desire for Jason to attend Hogwarts.

"Wow, I knew Lily was a bitch when she sent me that reply to my letter. I never knew she would do something that stupid though."

Enough time had passed since their parents' deaths that John could bring them up now without feeling overwhelming grief. "Could you imagine what mom would do if she heard of anyone putting their child at risk like that?" Their mom's reaction could almost be seen in the way that John brutally hacked into his steak. She would have ripped them apart. "But it definitely sounds like you're better off with her out of your life."

"What did you see in her?" Asked Jason.

James just shrugged. "She's not the woman I married. Once she heard the prophecy, she became obsessed with what it would mean for her to be the mother of the Chosen One."

John wasn't really in the mood to talk more about Lily Potter. He was far more concerned what this latest development meant for his brother. "So what's the plan? Because I have no intention of letting Jason attend that school. As far as I can see you and the other agents had done just fine training him."

Jason looked at John angrily for a second, upset that he didn't get a say.

"I agree; Jason would learn nothing at Hogwarts. We've intentionally kept him away from the traditional teaching methods to see how his magic would develop. Croaker is already putting together plans to begin training other children using the same methods."

"But won't he come looking for me?"

"No, he may come looking for Harry Potter but Dumbledore doesn't know who Jason Sheppard is. Our hope is that we can take care of Voldemort before Dumbledore makes a move." Explained James. He took another bite from his apple before he added. "I haven't told Dumbledore that we've destroyed all of Voldemort's horcruxes yet either. I don't trust him not to try something with Thomas in the hopes of killing Voldemort."

Jason cut in. "What about Voldemort? I don't really have to kill him do I?" Both James and John could tell by his body language that the potential answer to the second question had been troubling Jason for a while.

John wasn't happy about that part either. 16 was too young for his brother to kill someone even if that someone was a mass murderer.

James shrugged uncomfortably; he didn't want Jason to be the one to kill Voldemort either. "I don't know. Prophecies are never straight forward. You might have fulfilled you part when you gave us the idea to destroy his horcruxes." Unable to look Jason in the eyes anymore he looked down at the table. He felt guilty about what he was going to say next. "We received intelligence this morning that Voldemort is in the same condition that Thomas is. Apparently Albus was right about one thing, whatever weird link Voldemort inadvertently created between them works both ways."

That news perked both Jason and John up, so much so that John asked. "If that's the case, why not just go in with a strike force and kill him while he's defenseless?"

"A lot of people want to do just that, but if we do that Thomas is going to die too. We're hoping that by capturing Voldemort, we can come up with some way of breaking the bond first."

"Still that's good news; we just need to keep Jason off of Dumbledore's radar then." Said john enthusiastically around another bite of steak.

Jason didn't say anything. He was relieved that he wouldn't have to attack Voldemort but he felt bad for his twin. "Is there anything you can do for Thomas? I can't help but feel bad for him. I might have turned out like that if Dumbledore hadn't gotten it wrong when we were babies."

"There is a team looking into that as well but the spell used to protect the prophecies is ancient and not much is known about it." It was hard for James not to feel relieved that this had happened to Thomas and not Jason. If only he'd tried harder than maybe Thomas would've turned out different, not that Jason was perfect but he didn't walk around acting like everything should be handed to him on a platter. It was true that Jason could come off as being a bit full of himself at times but at least it was for his accomplishments. He'd worked hard to get where he was in school, baseball, and his magic.

Jason seemed satisfied with that answer.

James stayed for a while after that, just catching up on the latest events in the Sheppard family. It was nice to be able to watch TV with them and simply forget about the tensions and intrigues of the wizarding world. He loved magic he truly did and it was amazing what could be done with it, but at times it was witches and wizards that James didn't like. He'd never realized until he started living in the muggle world how insular and backward British magical society had become compared to some of the accomplishments of the muggles.

**April 16****th****, 19****96****Little Hangleton, UK**

Rather than move in and take Voldemort immediately, the Unspeakables decided it would be best to wait for a short time. The additional time was necessary for three reasons. First, it gave the Unspeakables more time to plan. The goal was to not just make off with Voldemort but to leave no indications of who was behind the attack. Their lives would be much simpler if they didn't have to contend with Death Eaters attacking the Ministry in a misguided attempt to get their leader back.

The second reason was to assess whether Voldemort's condition was temporary or more permanent. According to their spy, Voldemort's condition had remained essentially unchanged over the course of the two weeks. There were occasional periods when Voldemort appeared to be semi aware of his surroundings but his incoherent mumblings put even those periods in question.

The final reason was to give them time to prepare a room with as many wards on it as possible. It would be disastrous if Voldemort were to recover while in their custody. More than just the loss of life that would no doubt occur; he would have access to some incredibly powerful magical artifacts.

Whether it was a result of their planning, luck, or a combination of the two, the raid on Voldemort's family home in Little Hangleton went off without a hitch. There were only a handful of Death Eaters in attendance at the time. In a move that would take many witches and wizards by surprise had they known, the Unspeakable agents involved were not there to capture but to kill.

The Death Eaters had been unprepared for the brutal assault.

The outer walls were pulverized in the initial salvo. Gaping holes further eroded the already weakening structural integrity of the home. With a groan, the second floor gave way in places and crashed to the ground. Dust and smoke billowed out.

Coughing and blinking rapidly to clear the dust and smoke away, the Death Eaters staggered out onto the grounds. The three that emerged first were cut down by a hail of cutting curses.

The remaining two Death Eaters watched their comrades' fall and responded with a pair of killing curses. Blinded as they were by the dust and smoke, their spells were nowhere near any of the agents.

Another hail of curses ended the Death Eater threat.

A few minutes passed before the agents approached the home. When no one else emerged, the agents entered the home, taking care not to further damage the walls. They didn't want to be caught in a structural collapse.

Once inside the team of agents, 15 men in total broke into three groups of five. Their goal was not just to kidnap Voldemort but to raid any potion materials, artifacts, or magical tomes that were in the home. None of them believed that the Death Eaters would simply disappear so it was best to make it as difficult for them to continue their operations as possible.

Close to an hour passed before the last team left having gathered numerous books and artifacts from a secret room in the basement. It was also home to some of the grisliest reminders of just why Voldemort needed to be stopped permanently. The red stained walls and scattered bones were a good indication of just what went on in the room and none of the men were sorry to see it destroyed.

**April 17****th****, 19****96****Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, UK**

Things just seemed to be getting worse. At first the news from Severus Snape, his resident potions professor and spy had been more than enough to give Albus hope that Voldemort's second rise would be short lived. At least Lily's actions hadn't signaled a wave of terror with Voldemort attacking brazenly. No, she'd managed to buy them time. It was unfortunate that the cost had been Thomas' sanity but in the grand scheme of things, it was a small price to pay.

The situation changed again yesterday evening when Severus brought grave news. It seemed that a new dark lord was taking advantage of Voldemort's weakness. The Riddle Home that had served as the headquarters for the Death Eaters had been virtually destroyed and there was no sign of Voldemort, only the mangled bodies of five minor Death Eaters. Now Albus prayed that whoever it was that had spirited Voldemort away wouldn't kill him before Albus had puzzled out where he'd hidden his horcruxes. As a spirit, he might be free from the insanity that had struck down his physical body.

To say the Order of the Phoenix was confused when Albus gave them their new instructions would be an understatement. Their standing orders regarding Death Eaters remained but now Albus designated some specific members to begin searching the less reputable areas of the wizarding world to see if they could find Voldemort or word of this new Dark Lord.

James in particular had to fight to keep from laughing when Albus presented his latest theory. The man was so single minded. It didn't seem to occur to him that the attack on Voldemort could've come from the Ministry or a light-minded group that wasn't content to stand on the sidelines the way the Order frequently did. Thankfully the man didn't try to stick him on one of the teams searching for this new threat to their world.

After the end of the meeting, Lily tried to corner James. It had only been a couple of weeks since she'd destroyed her meal ticket but things were already starting to get desperate for her. None of her friends would answer her letters or respond to her floo calls. Everywhere she went people whispered behind her back or openly called her names. Restaurants she had frequented for years refused to serve her. It seemed like everyone was turning their back on her.

James saw Lily coming from a mile away and didn't bother to hide his smirk at her slightly disheveled appearance. It was a far cry from her normally immaculate attire. Unfortunately, in avoiding Lily, he ran smack into Dumbledore.

What followed was a brief conversation that involved James lying through his teeth. Albus wanted to know when Harry would be coming to Hogwarts. Apparently, Albus felt that Harry wouldn't pass up the opportunity this time. Sadly, he was disappointed. Hoping to stall Dumbledore a little James told him that Harry wanted to finish out his school year but that he would consider starting at Hogwarts next year. Luckily this seemed to appease Dumbledore enough that he wouldn't be calling for an immediate man-hunt to drag Harry in.

**August 17****th****, 19****96****Department of Mysteries, UK**

The Unspeakables had been studying the bond that existed between Thomas and Voldemort for three months. In that time, the attacks by Death Eaters had increased in frequency but they seemed to lack organization. The number of deaths was small compared to those during Voldemort's first rise. Many of the attacks were ended soon after they'd begun by the timely arrival of Aurors. People were beginning to lose their fear of the Death Eaters and gain confidence in the ability of the Aurors to protect them.

Ironically, it was the Ministry's continued refusal to acknowledge the return of Voldemort that hurt the Death Eaters the most. In the past, many would have been able to bribe their way clear of any charges claiming the Imperius curse but without Voldemort and the increased scrutiny from the Daily Prophet those captured were actually given fair trials. Not all of those arrested were convicted because even if they weren't able to bribe those in charge, people like Lucius Malfoy were still influential enough to call in favors in order to escape punishment.

While the Ministry refused to acknowledge Voldemort's return, it was pretty much accepted by most witches and wizards that he was back. There was simply no other reason for the Death Eaters to begin their attacks again. But the frequent arrests and public trials did a lot to keep public panic at bay. There just wasn't the pervasive fear and terror that had gripped their world and only the Unspeakables and Death eaters knew the reason.

Now months since Voldemort's capture, James found himself standing in front of Croaker's office afraid to go in. Even though he hadn't been personally involved in the research, he knew that they hadn't found anything yet. In many respects, he'd lost his son years ago but this was different. Before there'd always been the chance that Thomas would change but this would be permanent. There was no coming back from death, not for Thomas.

Gathering his courage, James knocked on the door and entered when he heard Croaker's voice.

"You wanted to see me sir?" James asked

Croaker was sitting behind his desk which was covered with reports and assorted knick-knacks. "Yes James, please take a seat." He motioned absently to the chairs positioned in front of his desk.

Tired eyes that had seen far too much in their lifetime studied James for a moment. Croaker absently paged through another report before broaching the reason for James' presence. "James, it's been three months now and we've found nothing to give us any indication that the bond between Thomas and Voldemort can be broken by anything short of death."

Railing against his boss or the world wouldn't help right now nor would arguing about the fairness of it all. No, if James let himself go down those paths, he would breakdown. So instead he clamped his emotions down as tightly as he could. "I know sir; I appreciate the effort that the team has put into it. If I may ask, what will you do now?"

"As much as I would like to give the team all the time it needs, Voldemort is showing some signs of throwing off the curse. The team thinks it is a combination of his mind being incredibly strong and actually being a party to the prophecy. That being said though, I'm giving the team some additional time."

"What? Why?" Asked James.

"I've asked them to look into methods of bringing Thomas back after Voldemort is dead." Here Croaker stood and moved over to a cabinet. Pulling out a bottle of fire whiskey, he poured to glasses and handed one to James. "You may or may not be aware but muggles have had some success with reviving people a short time after their heart has stopped. The team is looking to see if this method would be effective. You must keep in mind though that this isn't a sure thing James, you need to understand that."

James downed the drink in one swallow and relished the warm sensation that spread over him. "But there would be a chance?" It felt a little strange fighting for his estranged son, but he couldn't help but hope that somehow this would be a second chance for Thomas. A chance for him to live a normal life.

"Yes, it's a long shot but it could work."

"James if Voldemort begins to show more signs of recovery…"

"I understand we can't put the wizarding world at risk just for my son, as much as it pains me to say it. How are we going to dispose of Voldemort?"

"The same way we did with the horcruxes, we're going to use the Veil. It is permanent so there will be no chance of someone using Voldemort's remains in some sort of ritual. I do have a request though."

"Anything." Said James immediately.

Croaker noticed the change in James' demeanor. The man was sitting straighter. It didn't look like he was weighed down by the problems of the world. The mere possibility of a solution for his son's problem was enough change his outlook. "I would like Jason to be there when we end Voldemort's life, just in case the prophecy is true."

James wasn't happy about the request but he couldn't deny the logic of it either. "You know I'm not the one who can make that decision? If John does agree to it, chances are he's going to demand to be there as well."

"I suspected as much. Still, when you discuss this with them make sure they realize that Jason won't be doing anything. He'll simply be an observer. I have no intention of turning that boy into a killer."

James agreed to discuss it with John and Jason. Before he left his boss' office he brought up another matter. "What do we do about Dumbledore? He's been pressuring me to bring Jason to Hogwarts and both John and Jason have made it clear that they have no intention of going."

Croaker steepled his hands in front of his mouth. "Well, I think it is time for me to speak with our dear Headmaster. I don't think it would be in Jason's best interests to change his training regime now. Plus, he's somewhere in his seventh year now, he'd just be bored at Hogwarts."

"You know the old goat's going to want to know why we are training him. I'd appreciate it if you didn't go into Jason's talents."

Croaker looked insulted. "I'll just tell him we are trying out new methods of teaching magical children. If they're successful it could revolutionize the way magic is taught. He has no need to know any of the specifics of Jason's strength." Suddenly Croaker laughed. "Could you imagine Dumbledore's reaction to some of Jason's more unique attacks? Oh, I would give good money to see it someday."

James smiled ruefully, having been the victim of some of those attacks. "Who would've thought that muggle cartoons and comic books would be such an effective teaching aid?"

"Apparently no one in the wizarding world. It will be interesting to see if Thatcher's and Harris' sons are as successful. They're both showing signs of accidental magic so we've started giving them the same sort of training that Jason received to help him learn some basic control."

It was an exciting time to be part of the department that's for sure. Once Voldemort's shadow was lifted, James fully intended to join the education teams. He was one of the most experienced Unspeakables having gone through it step by step with Jason. It would be fascinating to try and apply those lessons to new students.

That same night, James spoke with John and Jason. Neither was particularly thrilled with the idea of being there when Voldemort was tossed through the Veil. But the discussion went pretty much as James had expected. John would only agree to it if he was there as well, he didn't want Jason dealing with something like that without him. Jason was more or less ok with it since he wasn't the one who would be killing the man and he wouldn't be alone.

**November 10****th****, 19****96****McMurdo, Antarctica**

John didn't know what to do. Since his promotion to Major, he'd gotten shit job after shit job just like he'd expected. The latest had been to serve as a glorified taxi driver. General Jack O'Neill had been touring the Lakenheath airbase when a call came in for him. For some reason, he was desperately needed down at McMurdo in Antarctica. So who better to fly the general down there than the major hated by his commanding officers?

The flight down had been uneventful until they switched from the transport to a helicopter. It seems that there was some international research station that was requesting the General's presence. During the flight to the research station, their helicopter was attacked by some golden glowing missile thing that John had never seen before. He'd put the copter through maneuvers that it sure as hell wasn't designed for but the damned missile kept swerving and zeroing back onto them every time he lost it. In the end, he'd been forced to land and shut the engine down just before he leapt out of the copter.

Then, as if his day wasn't strange enough, it turned out that the missile was actually something called a drone. They were part of a defense system that have been built millions of years ago by race called the Ancients. To his surprise and discomfort, he was found to have a rare gene that allowed him to use the Ancients' technology and because that didn't make him special enough already, he was able to do things that none of the other scientists had been able to. Operating some of the technology had been almost instinctual for him.

Before he left to take General O'Neill back to McMurdo he was approached by the leader of the science team, Elizabeth Weir. Apparently, they had found the location of the lost city of Atlantis, in truth it was a city built by the Ancients and flown to the Pegasus galaxy. Well because of the gene, she wanted him to join the expedition and seemed truly surprised when he didn't give her a 'yes' right away.

So here he was with a chance to explore an entirely different galaxy and all it would mean is leaving his brother behind. By the look on the General's face, he wasn't too happy that John hadn't jumped at the opportunity.

They talked for a few minutes; O'Neill was nothing if not succinct. In short, O'Neill felt that John would be making the biggest mistake of his life if he didn't join up with the expedition.

"With all due respect sir, I have to think about my brother too." John said.

"Hey I'm all about family but tell me this. How are you gonna feel if something happens to him that you could've stopped? You don't strike me as the kind of guy to sit on the sidelines. With the threats out there, can you really sit this one out?"

It was true. After Torchwood's screw-up with the Cybermen, John didn't know if he could just stand by and do nothing. More importantly, he didn't think Jason would want him to. Still he'd like to talk it over with his brother first because it would mean an extended period of time where he would be out of reach, extremely out of reach.

"Could I tell my brother what I'd be doing?" He hoped that since his brother already had security clearance, he would be allowed. For the first time, he was really happy that Jack insisted on keeping it active even though Jason's visits to Torchwood had virtually stopped.

O'Neill waited until they finished touching down to answer. He'd grown tired of talking over the roar of the rotor blades. "It would take too long to go through clearance. If you do this he'll have to remain in the dark like everyone else's family."

John brightened and he smiled his lopsided grin. "Oh if that's all, Jason already has Top Secret clearance and SCI clearance as well. But if his current home in the UK is a problem he has Top Secret clearance in the UK too, can't remember if he went through with DV or not though."

Jack O'Neill thought that there was very little that could surprise him, not after going through the Stargate to other planets and fighting alien enemies for seven years. But this brought him up short. "How old is your brother?"

"He's 16, turns 17 in July." He was having fun now watching the General try and figure out why his brother would have such high clearance. He would be curious to see if O'Neill had the necessary security clearance to hear the reasons.

"Who was crazy enough to give a 16 year Top Secret clearance and why on Earth would he need it?" O'Neill groused.

"Actually sir he's had that level since he was 8 or 9, can't really remember. Before I answer your second question do you have SCI clearance and if so what classification?" It was really becoming hard to keep in his laughter now. The expression on the General's face was priceless. If they weren't in the Antarctic the man probably would've stopped dead in his tracks.

"I have SCI SI clearance. So what is your brother a genius or something?"

John couldn't help it, he laughed. "No he's not a genius but you don't have the right classification for me to tell you what's going on. So can I tell him about the expedition?"

"Wait, what? I'm a freakin' General, how can I not have clearance?" O'Neill rounded on him and looked at John challengingly. "You know I am going to find out what's going on with your brother. I promise you that."

"I believe you sir, I just can't tell you right now. But can I tell him?" Repeated John.

Still grumbling, O'Neill gave in. It was hard to argue against when the kid had more clearance then he did. "Oh for crying out loud! Fine but I want your answer by the end of the week."

John's conversation with Jason had been surprisingly similar to the one with General O'Neill. Once Jason got over the shock that not only was Atlantis real, but it was in another galaxy they got down to meat of things.

"This isn't another Torchwood is it?" Asked Jason. It was easy to see the parallels between the Stargate program and Torchwood. Both were concerned with alien threats, both were searching for technology; both were probably in over their heads.

John leaned forward attentively. He'd suspected that Jason had a problem with Torchwood for a long time but he'd never been able to get the answer from his brother. "The expedition? I'm not sure what you're asking." He said truthfully.

Jason crossed his arms defensively. He'd never said anything to John because it always felt like he was attacking their dad a little but he didn't really see any other option this time. "Promise me that whatever happens you're not just going to be studying alien technology."

"Jason?"

"Look it's just that dad died because all Torchwood does is study aliens and their technology. They've never done anything to stop them. That's not what this is about is it? It's not just another excuse to study some hi-tech gear and never do anything?"

Finally, John thought. Now he could see what had been bothering his brother about Torchwood ever since the attack. "Hey, you think they would be sending a big military contingent if it was just to study some alien gadgets?"

Jason admitted to himself that if the military was involved there was probably some ass kicking too. "This sucks!" Jason said simply. "I don't want you to go but how could you pass the opportunity? I mean if I could go with then I'd have no problems."

Jason looked so hopeful that John laughed. "Sorry, I don't think they plan on bringing high school teachers along with the expedition. So you're ok with this?"

"Yeah, I guess. It does suck though. How am I supposed to kick your ass in baseball if you're in another galaxy?" Before John could protest Jason asked "When will you leave?" What Jason didn't say was that he didn't want John to go because if John died out there in the Pegasus galaxy Jason would probably never know.

Shrugging his shoulders John said truthfully "I don't know. I'll probably be stationed in Colorado Springs until we leave but for something this big it will probably be a couple of months."

**December 10****th****, 19****96****Department of Mysteries, UK**

James and Jason were in the Death Chamber along with most of the Unspeakables. Today was the day that Voldemort was scheduled to be sent through the Veil.

John would've been there but he had been stationed in Colorado Springs pending the departure of the expedition. Even knowing James for more than 5 years now didn't stop John from threatening him before leaving. He'd promised to make James' life hell if anything happened to Jason. The threat itself had been vivid enough to conjure images of bombers soaring over Diagon Alley dropping their payloads while tanks rolled up the streets with guns and turrets firing away.

After Lily's horrible actions, James had petitioned for custody of Thomas. With Thomas no longer the chosen one, the courts had spent little time debating the issue. Lily's actions were proof enough of her poor judgment. So there was little fanfare or public awareness when the court awarded custody to James.

Not long after getting custody, James had Thomas transferred from St. Mungo's to a muggle hospital in London. A number of squib doctors worked at the hospital and were willing to cooperate with the Unspeakables regarding Thomas' care.

The muggle hospital was necessary if Thomas was to have any chance of surviving. The equipment necessary to revive him wouldn't function in a magical environment. Plus, the muggle doctors would have the best chance of reviving Thomas if the defibrillator didn't work. No matter the training, the Unspeakables simply wouldn't know what to do or try if things didn't go exactly to plan.

Croaker had put this day off for as long as possible but they couldn't delay any longer. Voldemort was showing more signs of returning to normal. His returns to coherence were growing more frequent but they were still too short for the man to even think about escape. Because of the increased risk, Croaker had brought in virtually every able bodied Unspeakable.

Also in attendance was the press. Sirius had thought it would be the easiest way to get the message out that Voldemort was gone. Plus, it would keep Jason's name out of it and thus give him the freedom of anonymity that Thomas had never had.

Standing there with James, Jason found his eyes drawn back to the Veil again and again. It had come to dominate his dreams and the sense of urgency continued to grow. It wouldn't be long before he would go through. The only thing that kept him from going through now was the threat of Voldemort.

With the help of the translation dictionary that Jack had given him, Jason had learned more about the Veil. The Veil was a gateway but unlike the Stargate, it only went to a single preset location, in this case the city that had been plaguing his dreams for years now. There was one other thing that he'd learned as well. When the Veil wasn't maintaining an active connection to the city, anything that passed through it was kept in storage until it was activated. Jason cringed at the thought of simply turning it on and releasing numerous criminals and worst of all Voldemort himself. Luckily, Jason had learned enough to know that he could purge the storage buffer before activating the connection. This would truly destroy anything that was stored inside it.

Because there were so many people in the Death Chamber along with them, there was no need for a glamour to protect Jason's identity. If anyone outside of the Unspeakables were wondering why there was a teenager present, they quickly forgot when four men trooped into the chamber. Floating serenely in the middle of the men was the catatonic form of Voldemort. Not willing to take any chances, Voldemort had been filled with multiple potions to keep him sedated.

Before Voldemort was sent through the Veil, Croaker stepped forward and read off the list of charges against the man. While Croaker was speaking, a small group of reporters huddled closer together and made their move.

Wands whipped out and cries of _Avada Kedavra_ echoed off the walls of the chamber. Instantly, three of the men escorting Voldemort's body fell bonelessly to the floor dead.

James shoved Jason to the floor to keep him out of the line of fire.

The stunned shock resulting from the attack gave the Death Eaters a chance to fire off another round of killing curses.

Only two of the five curses hit their targets but one of those was the last man guarding Voldemort.

Another pair of Death Eaters made their way over to Voldemort in an attempt to spirit him away.

Once the shock wore off, the Unspeakables began to fire back. The sheer number of agents would make short work of the attackers but little time was needed for the pair to escape with the Dark Lord.

"Dad!" Jason pointed towards Voldemort.

James swore under his breath and waved his wand sending a blasting curse towards the two Death Eaters.

The explosion forced the two men back but attracted the attention of the other agents.

Voldemort was still floating serenely in the middle of the fire fight.

From his position on the floor, there was little that Jason could do. But then his face brightened, he waved his hand making use of one of the first spells he learned from James.

Voldemort's body was propelled towards the Veil.

One of the Death Eaters yelled "Nooo!" He dove towards Voldemort in an attempt to stop him.

A quick thinking agent snapped off a _Reducto_.

The spell slammed into the man's chest and exploded out of his back. His body stopped in mid-air and fell to the floor with blood pooling around him.

The only remaining Death Eater clutched at his arm when Voldemort passed through the Veil. The Dark Mark sent waves of agony up the man's arm. Smoke started to waft up from underneath his robes; the skin around the mark was blistering and turning black. He screamed himself hoarse as the Dark Mark burned into his skin transforming itself into a normal tattoo.

Croaker struggled to his feet from his position by the Veil. He scowled at the dead bodies. If they hadn't had so many agents here, then the Death Eaters may have escaped with Voldemort. He was never so thankful that the department regularly screened its agents to ensure their loyalty. Unfortunately, they weren't able to do the same thing for the reporters but it was a rookie mistake to not check them for the Dark Mark and his men paid for it.

After some parting words, he dismissed the reporters that remained. The speed with which the reporters scurried out, eager to write their stories would have been funny if he hadn't lost so many agents.

James told Jason that they would leave to go to the hospital in a minute to see if Thomas had survived but he needed to speak with Croaker first.

Jason nodded absently and moved towards the Veil. No one was paying attention to him so he was able to press a series of characters at the base of the Veil. They glowed softly until he finished the sequence at which point the veil itself changed from the black nothingness to a solid white for a moment. Then it returned back to normal.

It was weird. Even with the attack, everything seemed anti-climactic. There was no final battle, no titanic struggle of good vs. evil. For some reason, the poem by T.S. Elliot came to mind. 'This is the way to world ends, not with a bang but a whimper.'

"Jason what did you do?" James asked, having seen the change in the Veil.

"Nothing, I just touched a few of the glyphs around the base." Jason lied. He still didn't feel comfortable sharing his dreams with anyone or even sharing his full knowledge of the Veil.

Croaker examined the Veil himself. "It's never reacted like that to anyone else. Once things calm down around here, I might ask your help in learning more about the Veil. Everything we know is mostly based on guesswork."

Jason nodded eagerly. It was the perfect excuse to get close. Before he stepped through, he wanted to be absolutely sure he understood how the Veil worked and that he had set the connection correctly.

Close to an hour had passed by the time that James and Jason were able to make it to the hospital. At that point, the excitement was over. Just like the Unspeakables had predicted, Thomas had suffered a heart attack at presumably the same time that Voldemort was sent into the Veil.

According to the agents that had been observing, it took quite some time to revive Thomas but they were able to do so eventually.

"Mr. Potter, can I speak to you about Thomas?" The doctor's eyes darted towards Jason, unsure whether he should begin while the teenager was present.

"It's ok, he's heard worse I'm sure." James said understanding the doctor's reticence.

The doctor cleared his throat uncomfortable before beginning. "Yes well, your son went into cardiac arrest a little over an hour ago. We were able to revive him but I am afraid that his brain went without oxygen for a significant amount of time."

James didn't understand half of what the doctor just said. He was not used to muggle medical terminology.

Jason had watched enough TV to know what the doctor was worried about. "Does he have brain damage?"

If the doctor was surprised that the question came from Jason instead of James he didn't show it. "We won't know until he wakes up. There has been another development. His brainwave pattern is noticeably more active than it was prior to his cardiac arrest. We're hopeful that the procedure to return his heart to a normal rhythm acted as a sort of electro-convulsive therapy and for lack of a better term reset his brain."

James was lost now more than he was before. Jason knew most of the terms, but he would have to look them up later. "Ah, thank you doctor. When will be able to see him?"

"We're still monitoring him very closely but family will be allowed to visit tomorrow."

James and Jason left after watching Thomas through an observation window for a while. Once outside the hospital, Jason contacted Jack to see if he understood the doctor's explanation. As best as he could, he repeated what the doctor had said for Jack and got back something more comprehensible to a wizard and a 16 year old.

"Electro-convulsive therapy is something that is used to treat mental illness sometimes. Electric shocks are given to the person to try and correct the imbalance in the patient's brain. I guess it is possible that it had some effect but the timing seems a little too convenient."

James nodded "I think it's more likely that it's tied to the resolution of the prophecy. The charm protecting the prophecies may fade once they are fulfilled because there is nothing left to protect."

**December 11****th****, 19****96****Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, UK**

"James, what is the meaning of this?" Albus demanded holding up the latest Daily Prophet.

James just leaned back in his chair, completely at ease. The Prophecy was done and his sons were free. Hopefully Thomas would recover but at least Jason would live his life without the shadow of Voldemort hanging over it. "I would think it's pretty obvious. We threw Voldemort into the Veil of Death yesterday. I really don't see what has you so concerned."

Albus twisted the paper in his hands unknowingly as he began to pace. "We never figured out what Voldemort did to achieve immortality. He could very well come back but now we won't have any warnings."

James reached out and snatched the paper from Albus' hands. "Did you read the article or just the headline? Because if you read the article you would've realized that not only did we toss old Voldie into the Veil but his horcruxes as well. He had 6 you know, that's why he survived that night."

Albus had never wanted to believe that even Tom Riddle would sink so low as to create a horcrux let alone six. The idea of ripping away chunks of your own soul turned his stomach. He'd always hoped that he was wrong about the horcruxes. "But…how…how long have you known?"

James smoothed out the creases in the paper and answered absently. "We found them a few years after '81. We were unsure what to do with them until Harry suggested tossing the disgusting things into the Veil. If they were anchoring Voldemort's soul to this world then why not let them anchor it to the realm of the dead where he belonged."

He was stunned. Albus flopped into his chair and stared at James completely flabbergasted. "And Harry, what was his role? Will you tell the wizarding world that he saved them?"

"Why would I do that? He just came up with the idea. It was the Unspeakables that destroyed the horcruxes, captured Voldemort and sent him into the Veil. Harry didn't save us, we saved ourselves." Dumbledore didn't need to know that Jason was the one that ultimately sent Voldemort's body into the Veil. It was clear he would try and make Jason some sort of icon.

"But our people need a hero, someone to guide them. Wouldn't it be better if it was someone we know, like Harry?"

"You mean a patsy. Look at how fast the wizarding world turned on Thomas. I would never put Harry through that. Plus the truth is already out there, you can't unring that bell." James knew they could go round and round like this all day and he didn't really have the patience for it. "Albus, unless you have something else, I really would like to go see Thomas."

Albus waved his hand absently. There had to be some way to position Harry as their savior. When he was gone, the wizarding world would need a new hero to guide them. Perhaps he could look into forcing Harry to attend Hogwarts for his 7th year; it would give him the opportunity to win the teenager over. Yes, a call to the Minister might indeed be in order.


	4. To Boldly Go

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

**A/N: ****For those familiar with Stargate Atlantis you will recognize the first portion of this chapter as a very brief overview of events after John arrives at Atlantis. From there events will begin in more detail during the episode 'The Defiant One.'**

**Chapter ****4**** To Boldly Go**

**January 17****th****, 19****97****Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

John stared at the event horizon of a stable wormhole. It was strange knowing that he would step through and seconds later emerge in an entirely different galaxy. In fact the whole thing was surreal. Forget security clearance no one would ever believe that the US Air Force had been operating an alien device that was millions of years old to travel to other planets. To make the story even more bizarre, the whole operation was run out of a sub level underneath Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado. It was a conspiracy theorist's dream come true.

For a second, he thought that maybe this whole expedition wasn't such a good idea after all. The idea of having his body disassembled at the atomic level and shot across the universe wasn't something he signed up for when he joined the Air Force. But at least if this was going to happen, he could step through knowing that Voldemort was taken care of once and for all and his brother was done with the prophecy.

A young lieutenant stood next to him at the base of the Stargate. Just looking at him made John feel old and he was just turning 30 this year. "Does it hurt?" John asked while running his free hand nervously through his hair.

Aidan Ford, the lieutenant had been the gate twice before so he had some experience even if the trip had never been this long.

Ford grinned at the Major. "Yes sir, it hurts like a bitch." Then he spun and let out a little whoop and leapt backwards into the gate.

'Oh well, too late to go back now' John thought. His eyes closed and his P90 gripped firmly, John Sheppard stepped through the Stargate and into the city of Atlantis somewhere in the Pegasus galaxy.

The event horizon fluttered and John emerged on the other side. He had to move quickly to make way for his fellow travelers who were beginning to step through the gate after him.

Per his instructions, he began to explore the chamber they were in. The walls were a soft brown with frosted white lights built into them. The room itself was large and open, the ceiling was easily 25 feet up and the Stargate located at the far end of the room directly across from a broad set of stairs. Passageways split off in separate directions and he could see small groups of soldiers already spreading out to search for potential threats. In front of him was the set of stairs leading up to the next level. As he moved towards the steps, they lit up. "Are you doing that?"

Rodney McKay was moving with John. The man was slightly shorter than John and perhaps a couple of years older. Whereas John was lean and in shape, Rodney was slightly overweight, his gut while not overly large was noticeable in the tight fitting expedition uniform worn by the civilians. "No, it's probably just the city reacting to our presence."

Something told John that there was more to it than that. McKay was a scientist and a brilliant one at that, at least if you believed what he told you anyway. Unfortunately along with the intelligence came an equal amount of arrogance. In the short time that John had spent with the man, he knew any concerns he raised would be dismissed. Because what Rodney hadn't appeared to notice was that the city wasn't reacting to everyone, just specific people, a subset of those with the gene necessary to control the Ancient technology.

The top of the stairs opened up into what could best be called a control room. There were multiple consoles covered in white diaphanous cloth. Screens hung from the ceiling black and lifeless waiting to be used once again. There were even the remains of small potted trees that had long since died so that only their petrified trunks remained.

Not long after the last of the expedition team arrived, John along with Elizabeth Weir, the civilian in charge of the expedition, and Colonel Marshal Sumner the leader of the military detachment were called to a large room containing a pedestal with a mounted control panel and a holographic image that seemed to be describing what happened to the Ancients that had inhabited the city.

The holographic narrator took the form of a woman in her mid 30s with shoulder length straight dark brown hair. She wore white robe and was for some reason beyond John's understanding speaking in English. Also in the room with them were McKay and the chief medical officer, a Scottish born doctor named Carson Beckett.

The hologram described the Ancients' arrival in the galaxy after they left Earth millions of years ago. In the years since that time, they seeded various planets in the Pegasus galaxy with the necessary components for the evolution of sentient humanoid life. Over the course of millennia, humans evolved and spread across the galaxy. Then they encountered an enemy, unlike any they had faced before. While the Ancients were technologically superior in every way, the enemy was ruthless and outnumbered them. The war raged for years, planet after planet fell to the enemy until eventually only Atlantis remained. While a great force-field protected them from the enemy's assault, the Ancients were trapped and eventually submerged the city in the ocean and fled back to Earth to live out their remaining days.

Before they could even discuss the implications of an enemy beating a race so advanced as the Ancients, a new emergency demanded their attention. The power sources for the city which relied on technology that had been dubbed a ZPM or Zero Point Module were nearly depleted. By awakening the city, they were draining the last vestiges of power and soon the shield which was the only thing holding back the ocean would fail and the city would be flooded.

Colonel Sumner, John, Lieutenant Ford and a small detachment were sent through the Stargate to search for a new ZPM or barring that, a place that they could live until a way back to Earth was found. While on the first planet, the group found a village of farmers and hunters. Their leader, Teyla Emagen told John the history of her people and how every few generations a malevolent race known as the Wraith would come through the Stargate to cull her people. Those taken never returned. They were used as food by the Wraith.

The Wraith attacked while they were still in the village. Small one man fighters shot through the Stargate and began using a beam weapon to kidnap the villagers unlucky enough to escape. Before retreating the Wraith ships kidnapped Colonel Sumner and other members of their group along with Teyla and some of the villagers. Rather than leave the farmers to their fate, John took them back through to Stargate to Atlantis.

Back at Atlantis, the ZPMs had been fully depleted and the shield was on the verge of collapse. Safeguards built into the city released the mechanisms that kept the great structure submerged. With surprising suddenness, the city began to rise. In moments, the city of Atlantis floated on the surface of a vast ocean. Now that the shield was not needed to hold back the ocean, the power generators brought by the expedition were sufficient enough to run many of the Ancient systems but according to McKay and the other scientists, the generators would still be insufficient to power shields or weapons if they were ever attacked.

It took some fast talking on John's part but he was able to convince Elizabeth to authorize a rescue mission to free their people and the Athosians. To provide them with a strategic advantage, John was flying a Puddle Jumper. It was a small ship built specifically to fly through the Stargates; it was equipped with weapons and a cloaking device making it a versatile ship capable of both exploration and defense.

After flying into the Stargate, John was able to land on the planet near the enemy stronghold undetected. John and his team managed to find the Athosians and missing soldiers only to learn that Colonel Sumner had been taken for interrogation. Using a small hand-held device found in the Puddle Jumper, John was able to track the life signs of the Wraith and Colonel Sumner.

What he saw was terrifying. The Wraith Leader was a female with long red hair. Her skin was an almost teal green and her voice had a strange huskiness to it. He overheard her discover the existence of Earth and saw for himself how excited she became when she learned that it was home to billions of people. Try as she might though, she couldn't make Sumner give up Earth's location and John watched as she literally drained the life from him. Colonel Sumner aged before his eyes going from a man in his late 40s to a thin emaciated old man that looked to be in his 80s or 90s. For a brief second their eyes met and John knew what Sumner wanted. Grimacing slightly, John sighted carefully and pulled the trigger to fire a single shot, killing Marshall Sumner instantly.

John managed to escape with from the Wraiths' clutches with the help of Lieutenant Ford. Together they got their men and the Athosians out of the alien base, but now before unknowingly waking all of the Wraith that had been hibernating until the next culling.

So now John, along with Lieutenant Ford, Teyla Emagen, and Rodney McKay were a team. They went through the Stargate regularly searching for allies and clues that might lead them to a ZPM. Because the Wraith were out there and waking up. John and Elizabeth agreed, it was just a matter of time before they came to Atlantis and they had to be ready.

**June 13****th****, 19****97****Suffolk, UK**

Despite the events back in November, Jason's junior year of high school had been uneventful. His friends and the other students had been completely oblivious to the death of Voldemort. Jason found it relaxing to be able to get away from all the craziness in the wizarding world. Even now, more than 6 months later, people were still celebrating. Not that he wasn't happy that the man was gone but it was nice to just be a teenager and not have to worry about anything but sports, classes, and girls.

The Unspeakables as a group had been hailed as heroes for Voldemort's death. Whether it was because the wizarding world needed an icon or was simply used to having one, the masses now seemed a little lost. They didn't have a shining figure to look to for guidance.

The leaders of the wizarding world had been tarnished badly by the whole Voldemort affair. The Ministry was seen as corrupt and lazy because they refused to acknowledge Voldemort's return until just before his second downfall. And even Albus Dumbledore had lost much of his stature for supporting Thomas Potter, the fraud.

There had been at least one positive change though. Thomas Potter had begun to recover from his ordeal. Neither James nor any of the other Unspeakable agents were able to determine the reason. It could have been because of the completion of the prophecy or the reaction of the protective charm to the muggle medical techniques, or even Thomas' death however temporary.

Close to three weeks had passed before Thomas woke up for the first time. His doctors were very pleased with the test results and were confident that if there was any brain damage, it was minimal. Encouraged by the news, James began visiting Thomas everyday and what he found was a different boy. This Thomas was subdued, almost broken. Between the wizarding world turning on him and finding out that he wasn't the Boy-Who-Lived, the foundation of Thomas' sense of self had been destroyed.

Not only was Thomas dealing with the fact that he was a pariah in the wizarding world but it also turned out that there was some minor brain damage. The area of his brain affected was normally used for coordination and motor control. According to his doctors, he would be able to regain most of his mobility but he would require extensive physical therapy.

For the first time in his life, Thomas was forced to work hard and there were no shortcuts to take. Magic couldn't help him learn how to walk again or even how to feed himself. He couldn't even whine to get his way, the situation was simple if he wanted to walk again he had to learn how all over again.

His task was made more difficult by the muscle atrophy from spending 9 months in bed. Thomas probably would've given up within the first week, but James was there every day. At first Thomas yelled and screamed at his father begging him to do something. Even though it hurt, James knew there was nothing he could do and that Thomas was the only one who could help himself. When James didn't help him, Thomas grew to hate and resent him for a time. Despite this, James continued to visit every day encouraging him when he needed and comforting him when everything seemed too hard.

Slowly over time, Thomas began to improve.

After speaking with James following Thomas' awakening, Jason decided to stay away. Thomas had enough to deal with without learning that Jason was everything he wasn't. Instead, Jason spent time with the Unspeakables' agents and continued his training and even began helping out the research team examining the Veil. It was a way for Jason to forget that John was gone. He missed talking to his brother but he doubted that cell phones or even a Torchwood communicator could span galaxies. Not that it had stopped him from trying once.

Croaker came down to the Death Chamber one day to speak with Jason about his future. "Jason, have you given any thought to what you want to do after you finish school?" Jason would make an excellent agent and he wanted to plant the idea in Jason's head.

Jason liked the man. He didn't play games and always gave Jason a straightforward answer to his questions. And there was something about him; Jason just knew he could trust him. That wasn't to say that Jason didn't trust James or John because he did but they would always try to protect him first and foremost. Croaker in contrast was not related to Jason and was not inclined to shelter him from any harsh realities.

Instead of answering, Jason asked his own question. "Is there somewhere we can speak privately?"

Croaker quirked his eyebrow and nodded. "Follow me."

Jason had never actually been in Croaker's office before but the pictures on his desk and dotting the walls surprised him. The man had never struck him as the kind of person to have pictures of his family everywhere but clearly he was. "My office is completely warded for privacy so anything you say in here will remain between the two of us."

Jason eyed the chair for a moment but he had too much nervous energy to sit down at the moment. For so long, he'd wanted to tell someone about his dreams but he'd always been afraid. The need to go through the Veil was becoming greater and if Jason was going to do this, he wanted to make sure that it was safe.

So it was with more than a little trepidation that Jason described the dream of the city. Croaker didn't need to know about the war that had been fought by its inhabitants. He told him of the city, the technology, what he'd managed to learn and that the carvings on the Veil were in the same language as the one he found in the city.

"You've been having the same dream for going on 6 years now and you never said anything? What were you thinking?"

Jason actually stopped his nervous pacing. Croaker's anger took him by surprise. "Who would I've told? James? What could he have done? I've seen enough of the wizarding world to know that you are too backwards to ever build a city like that. My brother wouldn't have been able to help either. All it would've done was worry them and I didn't want to do that!" Retorted Jason.

"What if it had been Voldemort attacking your mind?"

"Yeah because he was in the habit of attacking random kids' dreams with images of futuristic cities. He didn't know who I was and my connection to him was broken the same night it was created. "

"Fine but it was still reckless."

"Whatever, I didn't tell you so you could scold me. I'm not one of your agents and don't think I'm dumb enough to think that the training you gave me was out of the goodness of your heart. You got something out of it too. I heard about the children that are being trained the same way now. You know you should tell your agents not to gossip so much, news has a habit of getting around."

"Then why are you telling me this?"

"Because I'm going to step through the Veil sometime soon but before I do I need a sanity check. I need someone to double check my translations and work. I have no interest in killing myself. There's something in this city that needs me and I'm going to find out what it is."

Croaker wasn't even going to ask why Jason wasn't going to James with this. If the man knew about the dreams, he wouldn't let Jason get within 100 feet of the Veil. As a father himself he could understand that and agreed with it completely. As the head of this Department he had different priorities that had to be considered.

"What do I get out of this?"

"Besides a better understanding of the Veil and what it can be used for?"

"Yes, I'll have that either way." Croaker said smugly because with Jason's help they would know more about the Veil.

"I'll give you a copy of the translation manual I have for the language. You can compare it against anything else the Department may have to see if it is from the same source." Offered Jason reluctantly. Jack had asked him not to spread the dictionary around but in this instance, he didn't really have a lot to negotiate with.

"Ok, I'll do it." Then Croaker held up his hand to stop Jason "But, you're going to be the one to tell James when you go through. I'm not going to be stuck with this."

Jason agreed readily to that condition. In the wizarding world, you were considered an adult at 17 so James couldn't stop him. But he would leave a recorded message for him none the less. There was no reason to complicate things further by giving him the news ahead of time.

**June 30****th****, 19****97****Ministry of Magic, UK**

After Hogwarts had finished the year, Albus decided it was time to speak with Cornelius. The man was barely holding onto his position as Minister and had already approach Albus numerous times trying to identify methods to solidify his position.

Since the defeat of Voldemort, Albus had also spent considerable time trying to come up with ways of forcing Harry Potter to attend Hogwarts without being seen as the enemy. Already the wizarding world was floundering without a hero, an icon to follow. The war had shaken their faith in the Ministry and himself, a new figure was needed. Harry could be that person, a child of prophecy and the true Boy-Who-Lived. If the boy had been marked as Voldemort's equal than he was powerful as well. Wizards and witches would flock to him but first he needed to make sure he understood what his role was to be.

When Albus entered Cornelius' office that morning, he was surprised by the similarity between the man and Lily Potter. Both were being destroyed by their own ambitions. Lily had already fallen and was being shunned by virtually all of Britain's magical society. Cornelius was well on his way, but unlike Lily he was still clutching onto his position desperately like a drowning man struggling to keep afloat for just a moment longer.

"Cornelius how are you doing today?" Asked Albus cheerfully. He wasn't proud of it, but there was a part of him that enjoyed seeing the pompous man brought down a few pegs. Especially after the smear campaign Cornelius had engineered against Thomas and himself.

Cornelius looked up with bloodshot eyes. "Albus oh thank god. Please tell me you have an idea to solve this mess."

Albus pulled his wand but asked "Tea?" After getting a nod from Cornelius, he conjured a small kettle of tea and two cups. Both men filled their cups and took a sip before Albus got to the point. "I do have an idea on that. It is one that should be beneficial to both of us."

Cornelius leaned forward in his chair eagerly waiting to hear whatever Albus had to say. At this point, he would try almost anything in order to keep his position.

"The future of the wizarding world lies with its children but after this last year I fear that many parents will chose to send their children to schools other than Hogwarts. When that happens, we will have lost an invaluable opportunity."

"What? What opportunity?"

Albus was not happy with what he was about to suggest but he didn't think that Cornelius would agree otherwise. "While the students are in Hogwarts, we can control everything that they learn and are told. As we saw with Madame Umbridge this last year, the Ministry can have a big impact on what the students are exposed to. This will allow us to restore their faith in the Ministry, thereby securing your position."

The wheels began to grind in the Minister's head. Yes this could work. Dolores had been able to crush any lingering belief in the return of Voldemort this last year. It would be even easier without a major threat to worry about. She could simply focus on the Ministry's many successes and the strength of his leadership during these dark times. But if Dumbledore was right, than a large number of students would be returning. "But what could we do to ensure that the students return to Hogwarts?"

"I've been thinking about this for some time. I believe that you should sign an executive order requiring that all British wizards and witches complete their seventh year at Hogwarts."

"But why? What about all the younger students?" Cornelius didn't understand why they should limit it to just one year.

Albus wondered again how this man managed to get elected to such a high position. If he had any intelligence, it had atrophied long ago. "Because it will reduce any public protests by forcing the children to attend for all seven years. More importantly, the seventh years are the students that will be entering our society as adults. The other children will have no impact in elections for some years yet."

"I don't know Albus. My position is shaky at best." Began Cornelius in a rare moment of honesty. "I need a reasonable excuse for signing this order." He was truly hoping that Albus had something now. The curriculum he would pass on to Dolores was already coming together. If things went well enough, he may be able to push Albus out of the picture entirely.

"Why that is the easiest piece to sell Cornelius. As the premier magical institute, Hogwarts has the responsibility to ensure that the all the British wizards and witches are up to our standards. You can also say that attending Hogwarts can only help the students to perform well on their NEWTs."

"Yes, yes I think I could sell that. I will speak with Percy Weasley to get the order drawn up and I will plan a press conference for later this summer."

**August ****1****st****, 19****97****Ministry of Magic, UK**

Jason couldn't wait any longer. He and Croaker had gone over everything. All the translations were double and triple checked. They both were in agreement about the Veil, its function and how to operate it. The only piece that continued to be a mystery was why it only responded to Jason's touch. No one else in the department was able to activate any of the controls.

At first Jason had thought it could be his magical strength. He'd come to realize that he was definitely stronger than the average witch or wizard, not frighteningly so but more than enough to stand out. Yet the men and women that worked in the Department were usually above average in strength as well but there had still been no reaction.

When that theory had been proven false, neither Jason nor any other member of the research team had been able to come up with an alternative theory. They had even looked into the genealogy of the Potters and Evans to see if there was something anomalous. No, Jason was a typical half-blood. There were no magical creatures mixes in, no mysterious links to the founders, nothing to set him apart.

On his birthday, Jason came clean to James.

"Dad, I need to talk to you about something."

It was never good when you heard that from a teenager. James prepared himself. He half expected to hear that Jason had gotten some girl pregnant. Hell, maybe he was pregnant James thought laughing to himself. Thankfully, there were something that even magic could not accomplish and allowing a man to give birth was one of those things that continued to be impossible.

"What?" James asked nervously. For safety's sake he put his beer on the table and steeled himself for anything.

Slowly at first, Jason described the dreams he'd been having for the last 6 years and how they tied into his research on the Veil. He didn't want to leave everything in a note. His dad needed to understand the motivation behind what he was going to do but Jason was not telling him that he planned on stepping into the Veil. Discretion was the better part of valor after all.

James just sat and listened. When Jason had finished all he could do was ask "Why? Why didn't you say something sooner? I could've helped you or protected you or…"

"That's why I didn't tell you or John. What would you have done to stop me from dreaming? I read the books, I know there are potions but those can only be used on a limited basis. We need to dream."

"I don't know but you shouldn't have had to go through it alone!" James said a little louder than he intended to. Having gotten over his initial shock, James was a bit angry that Jason hadn't trusted him or his brother.

Now it was Jason's turn to get upset. Sure he liked James and called him dad on occasion but that didn't mean that he would let the man scold him, not for this anyway. "Hey I was 11 years old and my parents had just died. How did you expect me to react?!" Jason stood abruptly and his hands flailed around him as he yelled. "I was fucking afraid that they would take me away from John if they thought something was wrong. What would you have done in my place?"

"Well I sure as hell wouldn't have kept it a secret for 6 years!" James stood as well. His face was red and he put his palms on the table and leaned towards Jason. "It could've been Voldemort or something else trying to hurt you."

That was the one point he couldn't really refute. Tiredly, Jason ran a hand over his face. "I know, but we already knew that I didn't have a connection to Voldemort so it couldn't have been him. After a while they didn't even bother me anymore. I started to learn from them so what's the harm?" Jason finished defensively.

"Just because it worked out doesn't mean you shouldn't have told someone sooner." Said James stubbornly.

It was quite clear to Jason that a note was definitely the way to go for his upcoming experiment with the Veil. There was no way that James would let him go, even if Jason was technically an adult in the wizarding world. Still, he didn't want to make James any angrier so he tried changing the subject. "What did Dumbledore say when you told him I wasn't going to Hogwarts?"

James moved to the refrigerator to grab another beer before sitting back down. The look he sent Jason said he knew exactly what he was trying to do. "I haven't told him yet. Figured it will be more fun to see how he reacts when he thinks you're a fugitive."

Jason choked on the milk he was drinking. "Fugitive? Why would I be a fugitive?"

"Honestly, don't you keep up on current events?" When Jason opened his mouth to protest James clarified. "Current events in the wizarding world?"

"Nothing personal but most of the wizards and witches I've met outside of your Department are morons." Why would I want to read one of their newspapers?"

For the first time since this conversation began, James cracked a smile. "I'll give you that a lot of them couldn't tell their ass from a hole in the ground." Suddenly James stopped and groaned. Had he really said that? Good lord he needed to get more proper British friends instead of the American ones he'd made since moving to Suffolk. "Right, anyway, Cornelius Fudge gave a press conference last week to announce a new initiative."

Jason really wanted to roll his eyes. James had a habit of drawing his stories out to make them more dramatic but he didn't want to get into another argument so soon after the last one. "And?"

"In an effort to ensure that the young adults are up to standards, all British wizards and witches are required to attend Hogwarts for their seventh year."

A tension left him that he hadn't even realized was there. For a moment, Jason had been worried he'd have to go to the stuffy sounding boarding school. "It's a shame that I'm an American wizard then. Sadly, the law doesn't apply to me."

"I know and that's why it's going to be so much fun when you don't show up."

That had been the previous night. He'd stayed up late after going to his room detailing out the research he and the team had completed on the Veil. Croaker's review and agreement with all the assessments was also included because he thought James might need a little reassurance that his son didn't commit suicide. The letter was waiting for him on the kitchen table. James would find it when he got home from work and long after Jason had walked through the Veil.

It was a little after 10 in the morning and Jason along with Croaker and the rest of the research team were in the Death Chamber.

"Are you sure you want to do this Jason? I'd be happier sending someone else or at least sending someone with you. You're the only one the Veil responds to, we won't have a way of sending anyone after you." Asked Croaker.

"That's why it has to be, if this side only responds to me than in all likelihood the other end is the same way. Next time I can bring someone else, but we don't even know if this will work, I don't want to put anyone else at risk."

"But you're ok with putting yourself at risk?"

"I need to do this. There's something out there that I need to do and this is the only way for me to get started."

Croaker knew he wouldn't convince Jason to change his mind and after all the research it should be safe. "Ok then you have a go but remember you just checking things out. I want you there and back in an hour or I swear you're never using this thing again." This had better work or James is going to kill me thought Croaker ruefully.

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves Jason prepared to risk his life. He stepped smoothly up to the gate and activated the sequence that would connect it to the corresponding portal in the city from his dreams. This was the first time that they had actually tried to connect so he had no idea what to expect when he finished the sequence of glyphs.

Once the sequence was completed, the Veil flared to life. The black barrier was replaced with a rippling blue field that looked similar to a puddle. It was nothing like the white barrier from before when Jason had cleared out the buffer. Seconds after the Veil activated, alarms started blaring throughout the Ministry.

Croaker was the first to realize what was happening. "The wards are collapsing. We need to get out of here." Without the wards, the magic of the building would destabilize and possibly destroy the entire structure.

For just a moment, Jason was torn. Should he flee with the rest of the team or should he go through? His moment of doubt was gone as quickly as it came. While the rest of the agents fled, Jason stepped into the Veil.

**August 1****st****, 19****97****Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

In a dark room within Ancient city of Atlantis there was an arch that served as a precursor to the Stargates. Whereas the Stargate could connect up to a multitude of locations, the arch we set to a single location and could not be changed. Not long after the Stargates were perfected, the Ancients stopped building arches and only persisted in using the ones that already existed.

For the first time since before Atlantis left Earth for the Pegasus galaxy, the arch pulsed with power. A connection was established with the arch and if there had been an observer they would have seen the black event horizon change to a shimmering blue that rippled like water. Seconds after its activation, a figure was spit out from the arch.

Jason was wholly unprepared for the suddenness of his exit. It seemed like he'd just stepped into the Veil back in London when he came flying out the other side. Unable to catch his balance in time, he slammed head first into the edge of a nearby control console. The already dark room went black and Jason sprawled onto the floor unconscious.

In another part of the city an alarm started blaring. "Dr. Weir?" Peter Grodin, a scientist and expert on Ancient technology called out through the radio headset every expedition member wore.

Elizabeth Weir was sitting behind her desk in her office. She tapped her radio when she heard the call. "This is Weir."

Peter's voice came through again "Dr. Weir, please report to the control room. There's something you should see."

"On my way." She closed her laptop and stood. Her office was located on the same level as the control room and was just a short walk away. Elizabeth emerged from her office at a brisk walk with her hands held behind her back.

There were a handful of scientists and technicians manning different stations in the Control Room when she entered. After scanning the room with her eyes, she found Peter at his usual station near the controls for the Stargate. "What is it Peter?"

Peter looked up from the monitor he was studying. "A few minutes ago, we registered a massive energy surge in an unexplored part of the city."

Elizabeth leaned over Peter's shoulder to look at the display herself. "Any idea what caused it?"

"No, but look at this." Peter tapped a button on the console changing the display. "We're picking up a single life sign now at the same location."

"Get Sergeant Bates up here." Elizabeth ordered but she never took her eyes off the screen. For some reason whoever or whatever it was didn't appear to be moving. "Could this be another experiment gone wrong like the creature that was feeding off our generators?"

"I have no way of knowing but I'm not showing any power drains from our other systems."

"What about the Genii? Is it possible that they managed to leave someone behind without our realizing it?" The city had taken some damage from the storm that had just abated a week ago. John had sent out search teams as soon as the expedition team had returned from off-world but they hadn't found any stragglers from the assault team that had tried to capture Atlantis.

Peter shook his head again. "We just won't know until someone can check it out."

Sergeant Bates walked in a few minutes later. He was a marine, 25 years old and in charge of security within the city. "Dr. Weir?" He asked professionally.

Elizabeth suppressed her frown. The man was very good at what he did but his attitude towards herself and the other non-military members of the expedition got tiresome. If the man had his way, the military would be in charge of everything and there would be no civilian presence at all.

"Peter had picked up a life sign in an unexplored part of the city. I'd like you to take a team and check it out."

Bates straightened to full attention now that he was given something to meaningful to do. "Yes ma'am." He tapped his radio and called for a team to assemble in the gate room. Before leaving to meet his team, he turned back to Peter and ordered "Stay in radio contact, I want to know if that thing moves at all."

Like many of the scientists, Peter did not appreciate being given orders by a member of the military especially considering the fact that the military did not hold any authority over the other members of the expedition. But in this case, he acknowledged the necessity of what Bates was asking for. "Of course."

"Be careful Sergeant, we don't know who or what you're going to find." Elizabeth said.

"We will ma'am." Bates may not agree with a lot of Weir's decisions but he did appreciate her attitude regarding her people. In his experience civilians were usually too quick to put soldiers' lives in danger but Weir seemed to have some genuine concern for the health and safety of everyone including the military members of Atlantis.

Bates waited until his team had assembled before heading out. It took them some time to reach the section of the city where the life sign had been detected. One of his men groaned when they noticed the transporter near their destination. "Well, at least we won't have to walk back." Bates joked quietly.

The team made its way carefully into the darkened lab. The only light coming from the flashlights built into their P90 sub-machineguns. "Do you smell that sir? It's blood."

Bates nodded. It wasn't strong but once he was aware of it, he recognized it immediately. The light from one of his men's lights reflected off of something on the floor. Stepping around a console slowly Bates found what they were looking for. "What the hell?"

"It's a kid, what's a kid doing here?" One of the men asked.

"I don't know but we need to get a medical team down here." Bates stepped away from the kid and tapped his radio. "Dr. Weir we have a medical emergency."

"Sergeant?"

"It's a teenager ma'am." Bates replied. "He looks to be hurt pretty bad."

There was a pause while Elizabeth called for Carson Beckett. "Carson is on his way Sergeant. The teenager, is he one of the Athosians?"

Elizabeth was surprised when she heard the normally dour Sergeant chuckle for a moment before answering. "Not unless the Athosians have learned to make Levi's blue jeans and a Polo shirt."

Peter was listening in on the channel and he turned to Elizabeth and mouthed silently 'Levi's'?

She was just as confused as Peter now. "Does he have any identification on him?"

"I'd prefer not to move him until Dr. Beckett has a chance to check him out."

"Ok Sergeant, keep me posted."

It took Carson and his team close to 15 minutes to get to the lab. "Over here doc." Bates called out.

Carson stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the teenage boy on the floor. If he didn't know better, he'd swear that the boy was from Earth, there was no other explanation for his clothes.

Bates broke Carson from his stupor. "Doc?"

"Sorry, his clothes took me by surprise." His Scottish accent a little thicker than normal was reflecting his confusion. His momentary confusion didn't erase years of medical experience. It didn't take him long to identify that the head wound seemed to be his only injury. "We need to get him back to the infirmary. I'd like to do a scan to see if he has any internal injuries."

"Dr. Beckett, there's a transporter not far from here that you could use." One of the security detailed offered helpfully.

"It would have bloody nice to know that ahead of time." Muttered Carson as he walked next to the gurney they had brought with him from the infirmary.

One of the nurses smiled at Carson only briefly taking her eyes of their patient.

"Sorry Doc, we just found it on our way here." Apologized Bates.

Bates led the medical team to the transporter. The metallic doors slid open to reveal a chamber similar in size to a freight elevator. On the rear wall was a schematic of the city with dots designating each of the available transporters.

Once Carson and his team squeezed in along with the gurney, Bates pressed the location nearest to the infirmary. The doors slid shut and a white light flashed. The light faded quickly and the doors slid open.

Bates let Carson and his team exit first and then he followed them into the infirmary. He knew the rest of his team would be following them momentarily. From his position by the wall, Bates watched as the nurses moved around and made quick work of the poor kid's clothes. Despite his mysterious appearance in Atlantis, Bates felt some sympathy for the kid; no doubt he was going to be pretty embarrassed to know that he'd been stripped by the medical staff.

Before the nurses slipped on a set of scrubs, Bates notes the kid's physical condition. The muscles on his torso were clearly defined but not those of a serious body builder. Still if Bates had to guess, the kid worked out and was an athlete of some kind, he just didn't have the body type of someone who was in shape because of their lifestyle, like the Athosians who were farmers. They tended to be in shape but lacked the definition that came with working out specific muscle groups. But rather than give him any answers, the kid's condition just added to the mystery.

About a half hour after the team had made it back to the infirmary, Elizabeth Weir walked in. She wanted to see this mystery teenager for herself. "Carson what do we know?" She asked after looking the unconscious teenager.

Carson was sitting at a microscope looking at the results of one of the many tests he'd ordered. "Aside from a mild concussion and some blood loss from his head injury, he's healthy."

"When do you think he'll wake up?"

"Probably won't be for a few hours yet. By the look of things he knocked himself out when he hit his head on one of the consoles in that lab. When he does wake up, the little bugger is going to have one heck of a headache."

"Ma'am, I suggest we put him into isolation until we know more about who he is and where he came from." Said Bates from his position by the wall.

Elizabeth was going to protest but thought better of it after her recent experience with the Genii. "Do it Sergeant." Then something caught her eye. Why would Carson have left that? "Carson, why is he wearing a glove?" She pointed to the black fingerless glove on his right hand.

Bates had noticed that too, but hadn't really thought anything of it.

Carson moved over and held the hand in question up. "We can't get the bloody thing off. It's like it's glued on."

"Is it dangerous?" Asked Bates suspiciously.

"It's a glove. Nothing showed up in our scans."

Bates didn't like this. He didn't like things that couldn't be explained and there'd been too many things that fell into that category since they got to Atlantis. "Doctor is there any reason we can't put him in the isolation room now?"

Carson gave it a moment of thought before shaking his head. "No he's stable. As long you don't try and restrict our access, I have no problem with it."

"With your permission ma'am."

Elizabeth nodded and watched as a nurse along with Bates and his team wheeled the unconscious teen into the isolation room that had been setup shortly after their arrival. It only had a single entrance and there were viewing windows to allow outside observation. "Carson was there anything in clothes?"

Carson blushed lightly. "I never thought to look." He looked around and finally spied the clothes neatly folded on a chair.

He and Elizabeth walked over and started going through pockets.

Elizabeth was surprised when she pulled a wallet out of one the pockets. "Carson look at this." She opened it up. There was some money, British Pounds by the look of it. Then she found what she was looking for. "Oh my god."

"What is it lass?"

She just handed over the ID card she'd found.

"Bloody hell, Jason Sheppard? Do you think he's related to Major Sheppard?"

Elizabeth shook her head and moved over to look into the isolation room. "I don't know Carson, John talked about a brother back in Suffolk but how could he possibly have ended up here?"

Carson stood next to her and stared down through the observation window. The ID card was still in his hand forgotten. "His hair is messy enough to make him related to the Major."

Elizabeth laughed because the bandage and gauze were making Jason's hair even messier than it was in the picture on his ID. "He must be related, who else but John Sheppard's brother would wind up in the infirmary so quickly."

"I guess we won't know for sure until the Major gets back. Is there any news?" Carson asked. He'd heard that two of the scientists had been killed.

"Huh…oh yes. Both jumpers are on their way back. ETA is 5 hours. Can you keep Jason sedated until then? I'd prefer John to be here when he wakes up if it is his brother."

"I can't give anything too strong with the concussion but a mild sedative should be enough to keep him under for a while yet."

Elizabeth stayed for a few minutes but ultimately decided that the mystery would have to wait until John got back and Jason woke up. Before she left though she asked Carson to keep Jason's identity a secret. She wanted to see if John recognized him on his own.

Six hours later, Elizabeth found herself back in the infirmary waiting for Carson to finish checking out John and the others. Rodney looked shaken but otherwise unharmed. Elizabeth would have to ask John to speak with him, make sure he was ok with the loss of the two scientists. John was a little battered, there was a bandage wrapped tightly around his upper left arm. Teyla and Lt. Ford were also in the infirmary but neither was injured. It was evident that they were there simply to make sure that John was ok.

Elizabeth's attempts to look stern and professional lasted all of 5 seconds, until she asked innocently "Carson, so what's the damage this time?"

John glared at her and tried to sit up a little straighter only to grimace when the pressure bandage pulled tightly across his chest. "Hey I'm not that bad."

"Yes you are Major." Said Carson. "He has gunshot wound to his upper arm and a fractured rib. Normally, I'd say it will be a few weeks before he can go on active duty again but given how annoying the Major can be…"

"That's not fair. I'm responsible for the safety of this expedition…"

"Aye Major and I'm responsible for the health of everyone including you."

As much fun as it was seeing her military commander get shut down by the CMO, Elizabeth had another reason for being in the infirmary. "John while you were gone we discovered an intruder in one of the unexplored sections of the city."

This announcement got the attention of John's entire team. Rodney actually looked a little afraid. "Is it a Genii?"

Elizabeth sent him a soft look of compassion; he'd been wounded by the Genii in their efforts to extract information from him. It was no wonder that he was a little nervous now. "No we don't think so. Carson has him sedated right now in the isolation room if you want to take a look." It was so hard not to just come right out and ask John about his brother but she wanted him to make the identification without any input from her, like a police lineup.

John actually turned to Carson for permission which made the doctor smile. "Yes you can go. But I want you here at the end of the week for another checkup."

"Thanks Carson." John eased himself off the table being careful not to jar his rib unnecessarily. Together with the rest of his team and Elizabeth they walked over to the observation windows one level up.

Before looking down at the intruder John turned his attention to Elizabeth. He wanted to get a more detailed report of what had happened. "Did he do any damage? How did he get into the city?

"He's just a kid!" Blurted Rodney.

John turned from Elizabeth to see what Rodney was talking about. He didn't register what he was seeing at first. It had been a long time since John had seen him in scrubs. "Is this some kind of joke?"

Teyla was surprised at the hostile tone to John's voice. "Major Sheppard?"

"That's Jason, my brother."

Rodney, Teyla, and Ford all looked at John strangely. "How could that be your brother? Does he have his own personal Stargate that we are not aware?" Asked Rodney snidely.

"Carson is that my brother?"

"Well, I haven't done a DNA comparison but all his tests come back as human. The only thing that's unusual is the black glove he's wearing. We haven't been able to remove it from him."

"Oh I'm gonna kill him!" Muttered John. Everyone heard him clearly in the quiet of the observation room.

"John do you have any idea how he could've gotten here?" Asked Elizabeth. She wouldn't say anything to Sheppard but his reaction was so stereotypical of a protective older brother, she wanted to laugh.

There were only two things that could have gotten Jason here without using the Stargate. Either it was tied to magic or it was something from Torchwood. For the life of him, he wasn't sure which one he'd prefer. Regardless, unless Jason had a way of getting back to Earth he was going to be stuck here with the expedition.

The problem that John saw was that his brother would be bored. There wouldn't be much for a 17 year old high school senior to do here. Plus, he would have to at least tell Elizabeth about magic, probably end up telling everyone. With an enemy like the Wraith they needed every advantage.

"John?" Elizabeth prompted again when John didn't answer.

Rodney's voice broke the silence instead. "He definitely has your hair. Does anyone in your family know what a comb is?"

"Very funny Rodney."

Ford piped in. "Jeez Sir, I never even knew you had a family."

"Did you enjoy telling him your 'horror' stories when he was younger?" Teyla asked with smile. There were many nights before her people had moved from the city to the mainland that John had tried to scare the Athosian children with stories from Earth.

"How old is he?"

"Did you smuggle him in as your 1 personal item?" Asked Ford with a grin.

John grinned for the first time since seeing Jason. "Yeah he must've gotten tired of the box he was sleeping in and got out."

"Carson is there any reason he can't have visitors?" Asked John.

Carson shook his head. "No, he could wake up at any time. It might help if there was a familiar face there when he does."

John nodded and left to go into the isolation room.

"You really couldn't get that glove thing off him?" Rodney asked curiously. Perhaps it was some sort of Ancient technology. He'd had personal experience with that effect. He had used a personal force field generator that could only be removed by him once it was activated.

"No, I thought about cutting it off but it wasn't in the way or causing any problems so we left it."

Rodney wondered out of the room after that, mumbling to himself about Ancient devices and kids.

Back in the isolation room, John dragged a chair over to his brother's bedside. "I never expected to be doing this with you in the Pegasus galaxy."

A couple of hours later, a groan woke John from his light sleep.

John just watched as Jason blinked his eyes open slowly. "It's about time you woke up. Where do you think you are a hotel?"

Jason's head rolled towards John and his eyes blinked owlishly trying to focus. "John?" Jason grimaced and clenched his eyes shut in pain. "What are you doing here?"

He really wanted to be mad at Jason right now, but it was so hard seeing him in pain. It didn't stop him from asking Jason the same question. "Shouldn't I be asking you that? Last I heard Stargate Command wasn't in the habit of offering field trips to the Pegasus galaxy to teenagers."

Jason's eyes shot open only to snap shut immediately after. His face was tense with the pounding headache he had. "Does that light have to be so bright?"

"Sorry, there's nothing I can do about that. You know, you freaked a few people out by showing up in Atlantis."

Groaning in pain, Jason gasped "God John it hurts." Jason's hands were kneading his temples trying to relieve some of the pain.

As much as he wanted answers, he didn't want to see his brother in so much pain either. After standing, he left the room to find Carson.

Together, the two men were back in a minute. Carson quickly checked Jason's vitals and flashed a penlight into his eyes to make sure they were responsive. The friendly doctor actually apologized for that last one when Jason whimpered, the light felt like a knife cutting into his brain. "Sorry son, I know it hurts and I'm going to give you something for the pain. It will help you sleep."

"Is he ok Carson?"

"Aye, the blow to his head must have triggered a migraine, pretty bad one by the looks of it. That's why he's sensitive to light at the moment. The best thing he can do is sleep."

"John what's going on?" Asked Jason weakly. Already the sedative was beginning to work. The pain had dulled somewhat and it was a struggle to stay awake.

"You're in Atlantis Jason."

"Atlantis? That's the city I've been dreaming about?"

Now John found himself thanking Carson for the drugs. He probably wouldn't have gotten that little tidbit of information out of Jason so easily otherwise. "What dreams?"

"Huh…John?"

"Go to sleep Jason and I am so going to ground you."

**August 1****st****, 19****97****Elsewhere in the Pegasus Galaxy**

It had been close to 8 months since the first Wraith Hive shape had been awakened from hibernation. Since that time, automated signals had been sent out across the galaxy to wake the other Hive ships. Slowly, ship and ship awoke from hibernation. For the first time in generations, the Wraith were seen in large numbers. Unlike in times past, the Wraith were not content with a simple culling of the population where survivors were left behind to repopulate their towns and cities over time. This time planets were being stripped of their entire populations and all that was left behind were the smoking ruins of a civilization.

In a remote the part of the galaxy, the signal finally reached the final Hive ship. Like on the other Hive ships, all the hibernating Wraith began to wake after receiving the signal. Unlike other Hive ships that were usually controlled by a Queen this one was led by a Lord.

Like the Queens, his appearance was subtly different from the other Wraith. His skin was a lighter shade of green and his teeth were less predatory. His body and hands especially were more refined looking not quite as misshapen as the average Wraith.

"Why have awoken early?" He asked one of the other Wraith that were in attendance.

"We've received word of a rich new feeding ground. One that supposedly supports millions of humans."

"How is that possible? We would have found such a world long before this."

"I don't know but the ones that provided the information were using Lantean technology."

"The Lanteans live?" If the Lanteans were still alive than that meant their city survived somehow. That city would be his and with it, he could control the other Wraith Hives.


	5. Settling In

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

**A/N:**** Once again, thanks for all the reviews. They are a definite motivator.**

**Chapter ****5**** Settling In**

**August ****2****nd****, 19****97****Atlantis,**** Pegasus Galaxy**

Jason woke up the next day feeling much better. His head no longer felt like there was drill going into his skull, instead he was just hungry. After waking, he panicked for a moment until he remembered where he was. He was almost afraid to turn his head because he knew John would be there and what was worse he was absolutely positive that John was going to be pissed with him.

Just as he expected, John was seated next to him and he was still asleep. For a moment, Jason thought about letting him sleep but his stomach was growling and his bladder was full. The problem was he didn't know where the bathroom was and he was fairly sure that the guards he could see at the door wouldn't just let him leave.

"John." When John just groaned a little, Jason tried again, louder this time. "John!"

"Huh? What?" John spluttered as he straightened in his chair. "Jason?" He was relieved to see his brother feeling so much better; it also meant that he would get his answers now.

"John, I really need to use the bathroom."

John intentionally waited making Jason squirm a little. Finally he relented and stood up and rolled his head, cracking his neck. "Well, come on then. I suppose you expect me to feed you too."

The only response he got back was an eager nod as Jason fell into position behind him. The facilities were at the other end of the infirmary. John stood outside waiting while Jason took care of business. "Carson, my brother is awake if you want to check him out. Feel free to make it as thorough as necessary. He's not too young for a prostate exam is he?"

Just hearing that made Jason blanch. He knew John would be mad, but that was just downright cruel.

Carson looked up from the paperwork on his desk. "I would've preferred to do that before he was out bed Major."

"There were certain bodily functions that had to be tended to." Answered John with a smile.

A moment later Jason came out of the room looking much more relaxed.

"Ahh, you're obviously feeling better." Observed Carson. "Please sit on the bed so that I can check your injury." While Jason hopped onto the bed looking a little nervous as Carson removed his stethoscope from around his neck. It didn't take more than a few minutes for Carson to determine that Jason seemed to be doing fine. "Well, everything seems to checkout but I'd like to see you at the end of the week to make sure there are no further problems."

Jason opened his mouth to protest but John cut him off. "I'll make sure he shows Carson." He glared at Jason to show him he was serious.

"Don't forget I expect to see you too Major."

Now it was Jason's turn to grin as John fidgeted under the doctor's stare. Almost absently, he plucked at his scrubs. "Can I get my clothes back or am I stuck in these scrubs?"

"Are you sure you want to do that Jason? I heard the nurses had a lot of fun stripping you down."

Jason blushed a bright red. "Please tell me you're joking."

Carson pulled Jason's things from a storage locker. "Sorry lad, I have to let the girls get their fun where they can."

Somehow, Jason managed to blush even more. He didn't even know how to respond so he settled for snatching his clothes from Carson and running to the bathroom to change. Carson's and John's laughter followed him as the door closed.

A few minutes later, Jason came out dressed in his faded blue jeans and a black Polo button down. "Can we eat now?"

John and Jason walked to the area that had been setup as a cafeteria. It was astounding; everything was exactly like the city from his dreams. The odds of his dreams being of Atlantis were outrageous but he was happy to see John again even though he would be getting hell for it.

In the corridors and the cafeteria everyone was giving Jason strange looks. At first he thought he was imagining it but by the time he'd reached the cafeteria, he was sure of it. "John, why are people staring at me?"

His only answer was John snorting. Together, they grabbed trays and filled them with food. Once they were seated John gave a longer answer. "Jason we're cut off from home. People are a little curious as to how you might've gotten here. I expect an answer to that as well."

Swallowing a big spoonful of oatmeal Jason figured he didn't have any choice. "Promise you won't kill me?" It might be better to do it here where there were witnesses he reasoned to himself.

"Fine I promise I won't kill you. But I am definitely grounding you."

John watched impassively as his brother began twisting his napkin nervously. "I guess I should probably start at the beginning."

"That would be a good idea."

Like he had with James, Jason began describing the dreams that been recurring since he was 11 years old. Unlike James, he told John about both of them.

"Jesus Jason, what the hell were you thinking? You were fucking 11 years old and you don't tell me something like this?!" Hissed John. He couldn't understand what was going through Jason's head. Why wouldn't he trust him with something like this?

It was déjà vu. James had said virtually the same thing. "I was 11 and scared. Mom and dad had just died and I was afraid they would take me away from you if there was something wrong, so I never told anyone."

John shook his head. Trust Jason to come up with the one reason he couldn't argue with. The fact was he would do anything to keep Jason with him and probably would've done the same thing. "Fine, but I'm still grounding you, the length will depend on how you got here."

"Well remember the Veil that we used to destroy Voldemort?"

"Yeah. Why do I get the feeling that I'm not going to like this?"

"The Veil was made by the same race that created this city. It is a gate of sorts but unlike the Stargate you told me about, it can only go to a single location, this city. I spent months with the Unspeakables researching the gate and the writing that was part of the structure and had Croaker double checked all my work." Jason paused and took a drink of water before continuing. "John I don't know what or who it is, but there is something in this city that's been calling me. I knew I needed to come soon so once Croaker and I were convinced it was safe, I activated the Veil and came through."

Jason knew he was in trouble because John's face had gone cold. "You came through alone? What if the Wraith had been here? What if we hadn't been here, you could've died?" His voice was cold and soft.

John watched as his brother's face fell and his eyes dropped from John's face to the table. "We…I…I didn't think of that." He admitted softly. "It was just after so long, I was finally getting the chance to come here I guess. And Croaker let me; he authorized me to do it." Jason added that last bit to shift some of the blame. "I had to be the one because the Veil only responded to me, so whoever went through would not have had a way back."

"Where was James? I can't believe he let you do this by yourself?" If anything, right now John was pissed because of the possible dangers that Jason could've faced alone. Yes he was mad at Jason for doing something so stupid but it was more tinged with worry.

"Um, yeah funny thing about that."

"You didn't tell him did you?" John asked shrewdly. The remains of his breakfast were sitting in front of him ignored now as he focused all his attention on Jason.

"He knows about the dreams, well one of them at any rate. But hey, I wrote everything down in a letter for him to find."

After a couple of deep breaths to calm down, John asked "Is there anything else I should know about?"

Jason actually gave it some though before answering. "No, well except that I could probably find my way around this city since I've been exploring it for close to 6 years."

"That I can handle."

Both had finished eating so John stood and motioned for Jason to follow him. "Are we going to the Stargate room?" Jason asked after recognizing the route they were following. When he saw John's surprised expression, he blurted "Hey I told you I knew the layout of this place. It's not my fault they never told me the name."

"We're going to see Elizabeth Weir and you going to tell her how you got here." John said pointedly.

"But what about the secrecy laws and clearance levels?"

John rolled his eyes. "We're stuck in another galaxy with no way home. I think you're a little outside of the wizarding world's jurisdiction. And with the Wraith waking up, we need every advantage we can get and that includes your magic."

"Who are the Wraith?"

"Unless I'm totally off base, they're the enemy that you saw in your dreams." John didn't feel like talking about Wraith right now, especially with his brother. He didn't want to scare him.

"Oh." Jason said softly. He didn't ask anything else. He'd seen enough of the war to know that he didn't want details

They were silent the rest of the walk. Jason was still reeling a little from finally being in Atlantis. John was trying to decide what the best punishment for his brother would be.

When they entered the Gate room, Jason stopped and looked at the thing in awe. It was much more impressive in real life. "Wow!"

"Come on, you can look at it later." John snapped and quickly led Jason the rest of the way. They both entered Elizabeth's office once she waved too them through the glass.

Elizabeth waited until both Sheppards were seated before commenting. "It seems that our guest is feeling better."

"Elizabeth this is my brother Jason, Jason this is Dr. Elizabeth Weir the leader of the expedition."

Jason stood and stretched out his hand. "It's nice to meet you ma'am."

Elizabeth smile and took his hand, shaking it firmly. "Likewise, but I was surprised to learn that John had a brother."

"John, you never told her about me? I'm hurt. I really am." Jason smiled impishly at John. "I thought you'd gotten over that jealousy a while ago."

"What jealousy?"

"It's not your fault that the coaches thought you do better at warming the bench then being on the field. Not everyone can be a starter."

"Just because I didn't start at…"

"And your girlfriend, you know the one who always paid more attention to me than to you?"

Elizabeth found that one hard to believe, there was a 13 year age difference between the two. At least based on Jason's ID there was a 13 year age difference.

Now John was starting to get more than a little annoyed. "She did not like you more than me!"

"I didn't say that she liked you more than me because that would just be…well gross given that I was 13 at the time. But you have to admit, I am pretty damn adorable." The last was said while looking at Elizabeth and smiling a wide friendly smile.

Almost against her will, she found herself agreeing with him. Listening to the two of them talk; there was no doubt that they were brothers.

John gave up and pled with Elizabeth "Now you see why I didn't tell you about him. Can we just shove him in a closet somewhere and forget about him?"

A soft peal of laughter came from Elizabeth before she sobered. "As fun as it is to see you two bicker, I believe there are other things we need to discuss."

John nodded and looked pointedly at Jason.

Elizabeth sat back and waited for Jason to begin. He fidgeted nervously for a moment before he began to describe everything about the dreams and the Veil.

The office was silent for a few moments when Jason finally finished. Both John and Jason were waiting for Elizabeth to say something.

"Magic? You're saying that magic is real and that there is a secret society back on Earth?"

"Yes ma'am. As I understand it though, the world's leaders are made aware of the situation when they get into office."

"It just seems so unbelievable." As soon as she said it, she blushed. Their current situation would be unbelievable to almost everyone on Earth. "Sorry. Ok, we'll come back to the magic part later but do you think that this Veil could be used to go to and from Earth?"

"I don't see why not but you'd have to be prepared to deal with the wizarding world."

John had to add his two cents at that point. "It will be a major headache. Most of the wizards and witches I've met are not exactly the most open minded people. But that being said overall, the connection to Earth would be worth the hassle."

They spent some more time discussing the wizarding world and the various obstacles that would be in their path if they were to try and make use of the Veil. Jason wasn't really in favor of the whole idea. He was afraid that there would be wizards that would try to sneak into Atlantis and steal artifacts that may be used to terrorize the wizarding world.

During the discussion, Elizabeth picked up on something that Jason hadn't thought to mention previously. "Wait, the Veil only responded to you?"

John sat up a little straighter. He hadn't made the connection either until Elizabeth pointed it out. "You think he has the gene."

"It seems likely; why else wouldn't the Veil work for anyone else?"

"What are you two talking about? What do I have?"

Elizabeth explained the gene that allowed people to utilize Ancient technology. She felt that if Jason was the only one able to access the controls for the Veil, then he most likely had the ATA gene as well.

"Jason, I have no reason to think you'd lie, but if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to see a demonstration of your magic, it could be a valuable advantage against the Wraith. And I'd like for Carson and Rodney to be there as well. Lastly, I'll ask Carson to confirm the presence of the ATA gene."

"Well if you're going to include McKay, we might as well have Teyla and Ford there as well. I don't want to keep things from my team." John added.

"I'm not some stage magician. I'm not going to pull a rabbit from my hat you know." Jason said grumpily. He wasn't opposed to doing a demonstration but he didn't like people talking about him like he wasn't there.

"You could though couldn't you?" John asked with a grin while leaning his chair back and balancing it on two legs.

"Yeah, but that's not the point." He knew he'd lost the argument already so he just crossed his arms and glared at his brother.

"Isn't he cute when he pouts?" John had a full blown grin now.

It took them close to an hour to gather everyone and explain the situation. John suggested using the East pier; it had a large wide open platform that could be used as landing platform. So there should be no problem with Jason performing a demonstration there.

Ford and Elizabeth were curious but more than a little skeptical despite the fact that John believed Jason. Carson was strangely silent about the whole thing while Rodney was another story altogether. He was already cranky because he'd been pulled away from an experiment that he was running. "Why exactly are we out here again?"

John answered happily. "My brother's going to put on a magic show."

"Pffft, there's no such thing as magic. I would've thought you of all people would realize that. Especially considering we're in another galaxy." Snapped Rodney. "Magic is nothing more than an attempt by primitive cultures to explain the world around them."

Ford asked from the rear of the group. "Really so how would you explain it then?"

"Without having any time to take readings, I'd guess that the glove is some piece of Ancient technology that the kid has foolishly been allowed to keep. And please tell me you're not buying this waste of time?"

"I fail to understand why it is impossible for magic to exist." Said Teyla. Being from a more primitive culture she was more open minded when it came to such things.

Jason was more than a little tired of the scientist's snide remarks. "Is he always such an ass?"

John smacked him on the back of his head. "Watch your language, there are ladies present. But to answer your question, yes he is."

"Fine! Attack the guy who's responsible for understanding everything that goes on in the city." Snapped Rodney. After that he was just mumbling to himself about ungrateful soldiers and idiot kids playing with technology beyond their understanding.

Together the group walked out on the pier. Jason was in the lead and moved a little away from the rest. Before he began he gave a brief introduction. "Magic is a pretty versatile thing. In the interest of time, I will keep the demonstration to some of the more spectacular effects. If anyone wants afterwards, I'd be willing to talk about some of the specifics of what can be done."

"Just try to avoid some of the theatrics you seem to like so much." Added John in a dry tone.

Ignoring his brother, Jason then made sure he was at least partially facing the group so they see what he was doing. A blue-green nimbus of energy formed around both of his hands. With a wave of his hand, a transparent dome surrounded the group and then he began again.

Rodney pulled out his scanner to try and get readings. "It's an energy barrier of some sort but I don't recognize the type. It is different from the personal shields though."

"Are we in danger?" Asked Elizabeth.

"Assuming that Major Sheppard's brother has some semblance of control, we should be ok. But again why he was allowed to keep whatever technology allows him to do this is beyond me."

Jason ignored Rodney and continued on with his demonstration.

This time, held his hands apart slightly. A blue-green mass of energy formed in between his hands. Jason concentrated for a moment increasing the size and strength of the sphere before bouncing it a couple of times on one of his hands. Satisfied that it was big enough to make an impression he sent it on arc into the ocean. Just before hitting the water it stopped and hovered.

Rodney's scanner was still registering the energy discharge of the shield and now whatever John's brother had just done. He was even more frustrated now than before because he didn't understand what was going on, so he le lashed out. "Oh what an impressive light show, you know I'm sure there are some special effects companies that would love to give you a job."

John spared a quick glance at Rodney before saying "He's not done yet Rodney."

Annoyed by Rodney's continued comments, Jason poured more magic into the rest of his demonstration than he intended. His fists slammed together. The familiar blue-green magic flared around his entire body and then collected around his fists. When he thrust his fists forward a massive beam of magic shot out straight over the water.

The beam impacted with the sphere of magic Jason had created earlier. The explosion was massive. The surrounding ocean vaporized into clouds of billowing steam. The energy expanded in all directions in a brilliant flash. The entire pier shook and was buffeted by ocean waves caused by the magical detonation.

Everyone but John and Jason were stunned by the brief display. They were all a little shaken by the display of power from the teenager.

"Dr. Weir, this is Peter we've detected an explosion near your location."

"We're fine Peter and we're aware of the explosion and its cause."

While Elizabeth was talking to Peter, Rodney began to yell at John. He was ranting about letting kids use Ancient technology. Despite his best efforts John wasn't able to shut Rodney up, instead the man was practically raving about letting kids play with loaded guns and putting everyone at risk.

"Is that what you think? Wizards aren't idiots, I've had 6 years of daily training in how to control and manage my abilities. My teachers were considered some of the best and brightest the British wizarding world had to offer so before you go spouting off to my brother maybe you should get you facts straight. And for the last time, my glove is not some piece of technology. It's an aid, a conduit to make things easier."

Jason got sick of listening to Rodney. "John here take this." He took off his glove and tossed it to John. "Just don't give it to the jackass!"

John didn't need to be told but he put the glove into his pocket anyway.

"McKay or whatever your name is, since you seem to be a little slow and refuse to believe me. No matter how many times I tell you that the glove has nothing to do with my magic. I will give you another demonstration." To prove his point, he waved his hand and conjured a stool to sit on. Then he waved his hand and changed McKay's clothes to something more suitable.

Ford couldn't help it when he saw the glow around McKay fade. McKay was dressed in a pair of pink knee length shorts, a matching pink blouse with a jaunty beret on his head.

Elizabeth choked trying to hide her laughter but John and Teyla were not as diplomatic. Both laughed and their laughter got even louder when Rodney realized what Jason had done.

Rodney didn't find the change particularly amusing. In fact, he was turning an alarming shade of red and was obviously gearing up for an argument.

Ever the diplomat, Elizabeth stepped in "Jason, play nice. Please change Rodney's clothes back."

Not wanting to piss off the woman, Jason waved his hand again and transfigured Rodney's clothes back to normal. "Satisfied now or do you need another demonstration that the glove has nothing do with it? How about this?" Jason disappeared with a crack and reappeared on the other side of the group. Then he apparated again back to his original position before banishing the stool and the shield.

Carson who'd been silent the entire time finally asked a question. "But don't you need a wand to do magic?"

Jason looked at him suspiciously after the unexpected question. "You're a squib aren't you or someone in your family is a witch or wizard."

Everyone was looking at Carson now. "Aye, my little brother went to Hogwarts, first and only wizard in the family as far as I know." This sparked a whole new conversation which put Rodney on the defensive once again now that Carson was openly supporting Jason's account of things.

The demonstration was over and Jason put his glove back on, much to Rodney's dismay. He'd wanted to study the thing and determine how it worked. There must be some technology involved. A mental link would have to be involved, that was the only way for Jason to continue to use it even after, but Jason refused and Elizabeth wouldn't overrule him.

Instead of heading back to the main part of the city, Elizabeth wanted to check out the lab where Jason had arrived. All of them were hoping it would be a way for them to connect with Earth again, but unfortunately when they arrived they quickly learned it would not help them. Jason had shown them what to do to activate the arch but Rodney determined that like the Stargate it would need a ZPM to connect back to Earth. Of course, this left the question of how Jason was able to open it in the first place.

That night Jason was settling into his quarters which were right next to John's. He'd been asked not to leave them until he could be given a proper orientation about procedures and security. Grudgingly he agreed and did his best to occupy himself with the laptop he'd been given. At least if he couldn't leave his room he was able to read up on what had been happening since John left.

While Jason was in his quarters, John and Elizabeth were in her office talking about the best options for what to do with Jason. Elizabeth suggested moving him over to the mainland with the Athosians. Over there, he would have people his own age to be with unlike in the city where there were only a handful of military that were in their early to mid 20s.

John didn't think that would work out. Yes he'd have people his own age but he wouldn't have anything in common with the Athosian kids either. Plus, he preferred to have Jason closer to him. In a moment of emotional honesty he told Elizabeth that their parents were dead and Jason was his only family. Given the turmoil that had plagued the expedition, he'd feel better having Jason somewhere he could keep an eye on him.

Elizabeth wasn't against the idea but she had concerns. If Jason was going to stay in the city, he would need something to do. They couldn't just let him wander around the city all day, it wouldn't be safe and it wouldn't be healthy for him. At that point John reminded her that Jason could translate Ancient and could be of some assistance to the scientists with their translations. Elizabeth was a little skeptical, not about Jason's skills at translating but his interest in spending all day doing it.

"What about Carson?" Asked John suddenly.

"What about him?"

"I wouldn't say anything to Jason until we'd talked to Carson first but do you think Carson would be willing to take Jason on as an apprentice of sorts. It would be like what they did in World War II, Jason could be trained in emergency medicine."

"It's worth asking him. He's always complaining about not have enough help."

They talked about John's idea for a few minutes more. It did seem like it would be a good fit. Not only would Jason be able to contribute something valuable but he'd be continuing his education too. The other area that John wanted to make sure that Jason received training was in firearms, just pistols nothing too extreme. Once he put the idea out on the table, he changed his mind and felt that everyone on Atlantis should be certified in small arms. It wouldn't save them from another invasion or from the Wraith but it would give them a little protection. Elizabeth's only real objection was the limited ammunition that was available. Without a connection to Earth, they needed to be careful with their limited supplies. In the end they agreed to certify the members of the scientific team that were most likely to be sent off world during an emergency mission.

There was one topic that had been studiously avoided but now that everything else was wrapped up for the time being it called for their attention.

Elizabeth folded her hands in front of her on her desk. She was a little reluctant to bring up the last topic on her mind, but it needed to be discussed. "John, what do you think about Jason's dreams?"

John's head lolled back until he was staring at the ceiling while he thought about the answer. What did he think about his brother's dreams? "Honestly…" He began but trailed off and considered what he wanted to say.

Elizabeth just watched him and waited.

"Honestly…" John began again. "Honestly, they scare the hell out of me. We spent some time talking about them before coming to see you this morning and I swear he knows more about the war between the Wraith and the Ancients than we do."

That was news to Elizabeth. She hadn't been paying too much attention to what the dreams showed Jason because she'd been overwhelmed with information at the time. But if what he saw in his dreams was accurate, than Jason might really be an invaluable resource and not just for his magic.

"Really? I admit I was a little overwhelmed by the time he started talking about his dreams so I wasn't paying attention to the details."

"Yeah, the way he tells it, he's seen a compressed version of the war from the beginning to the bitter end." John was still looking at the ceiling. He didn't want Elizabeth to see how much this really bothered him. Watching a war with an enemy like the Wraith was not something he wanted his brother to go through. And now it turns out he'd been doing just that for six years with no one to talk to or go to for help because he'd been so damn stubborn.

"I don't need to tell you how valuable that information might be if it's accurate John." Elizabeth was leaning forward now trying to emphasize her point. She'd have liked to ignore the dreams but as leader of the expedition, the lives of everyone in the city were her responsibility.

John's head tilted back to look at Elizabeth. The look in his eyes was intense and penetrating when he said "What exactly are you asking for here Elizabeth?"

"I don't like this any more than you do John but we need to check this out. If what he saw is accurate we need him to document it as much as possible. What he saw may give us insight into the Wraith's tactics or possible weapons that may have survived the war."

"Are you asking as my friend or as my commander? Because I'll tell you right now the only way I'll help with this is with a direct order. It's bad enough he had to go through it once. I won't put him through it again." There was no way that he would put Jason through that without a direct order from Elizabeth. Yes he could see her position and he understood the importance of the information but he didn't care. Jason was his brother and that came first.

"If I have to, I'll make it an order but before we make him remember anything maybe we can just check a few of the major battles that he can recall. If they can be verified than I'll give the order otherwise we'll leave it alone." She was trying to be reasonable and to show John that she was thinking of Jason's welfare.

John nodded in understanding. He wouldn't make it any easier on Elizabeth than he had to but he did appreciate her compromise.

"John what do you think was responsible for the dreams in the first place?"

"I don't know and that's the second thing that scares the hell out of me with these dreams."

"It has to be one of the Ancients. I find it hard to believe that a device in the city would somehow connect with your brother and send him these dreams."

"But why? What is it about Jason that would attract the attention of one of the Ancients?"

"I don't know John but we'll find out. But John, you need to promise me that you'll keep me informed if he finds something out. I know you want to protect him and I understand that but I can't help if I don't know what's going on."

"Ok, I get it. I'd actually appreciate the help in making sure that Jason talks. Hell, it took him six years to tell me about these dreams, but I swear to god if he hides something like this I don't care how old he is…"

After that, the hard part of the conversation was over. Before they broke for the night, John had one final point that he discussed. He wanted to make sure that if Carson's test showed that Jason did have the gene that he wouldn't be used to activate any Ancient technology without John's permission. He may be stuck in the city with them, but John was his guardian and he'd be the one to test any potentially dangerous technology.

Elizabeth had no problem agreeing to John's request. She'd seen Rodney trying to brow-beat John, Carson and a few others into turning on Ancient devices without knowing what they did first. It was one thing for an adult to take that risk but Jason was only 17 and she'd make sure he wasn't pressured.

**August 3****rd****, 19****97****Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

The next morning Elizabeth stopped by the infirmary to speak with Carson about Jason. It took only a few minutes for her to explain the idea to Carson but his response took her by surprise.

"Yes, I'd be happy to take the lad on." Carson said eagerly. "When could he start? I think we should give him a couple of days to get used to everything before he starts." He was rambling somewhat with his excitement over the idea.

Elizabeth knew something was up. She didn't think Carson would refuse but he was far too enthusiastic about this. "What's up Carson?"

Carson just looked up at her innocently from where he was sitting by his lab table. "Nothing Elizabeth. I'm just happy to get the help."

"Right, why don't I believe you?"

Carson the report he was reading onto the table and looked up at her with a grin. "Ok, who's my most frequent patient?"

"Major Sheppard." She answered immediately. The man did have a rather frightening ability to get hurt. Of course it was almost always in the act of defending one of his team or someone from Atlantis, but it didn't change the fact that John should have his own dedicated bed in the infirmary.

Carson nodded and asked his second question. "And who's my most difficult patient?"

"Again Major Sheppard." John had become rather infamous since they arrived in Atlantis. He consistently snuck out of the infirmary or refused to rest. It drove Carson up a wall trying to rein the man in when he was injured.

Carson had a malicious grin on his face now that frightened Elizabeth more than a little bit. "Speaking from experience, little brothers have an uncanny ability to guilt us older brothers into doing what they want. With Jason in the infirmary, I might just be able to finally get the Major to follow my orders."

Elizabeth laughed softly "Carson, that's just evil."

"Aye, but it's for the Major's own good. Plus, I really wouldn't mind the help around here."

At the same time that Elizabeth was meeting with Carson, John was sitting down in the cafeteria with the rest of his team for breakfast. It was a tradition started early on since they all came from different backgrounds. Teyla had thought that by sharing breakfast together they could get to know each other and build the level of trust that was necessary for them to function effectively as a team.

John had quickly lent his support to the idea. As the team leader he needed to have a good read on his people. The last thing he wanted was to be in a firefight and have to worry about the reactions of those he was fighting with. The breakfasts wouldn't give him that insight but he would get a better understanding of their character at least.

Rodney was in his customary spot at the table. He was leaning over a tray loaded down with powdered eggs, sausage, and hash browns. There was a large cup of black coffee next to his tray that he occasionally took a swallow from whenever he took a break from inhaling his food. "Where's the rug rat?" He asked as soon as John took a seat.

Teyla looked over at her team mate surprised at the tone of his voice. "Rodney…" She said warningly. It did not take a genius to recognize that John would be very protective of his brother. Given the way he tried to protect his team, it was obvious to her that it was a way that he expressed his friendship.

Ford swallowed the last bite of his oatmeal. He pushed the bowl away from him and asked. "What's going to happen to him? I mean we obviously can't send him home."

John turned his head so that Rodney couldn't see the wink he flashed Ford and Teyla. "I spoke with Elizabeth about that last night. We both agreed that at least in the short term he'd probably be of the most use working with Rodney."

Suddenly Rodney choked on his food and started coughing. He was gasping by the time his choking fit had passed. "What?!"

John, Teyla and Ford took one look at his horrified face and laughed. Every time they started to calm down Rodney would try to say something and it would start all over again. The rest of the cafeteria was just looking at the premier gate team wondering what was going on.

Finally, John took pity on Rodney. "Don't worry Rodney I was just kidding. Elizabeth was going to speak with Carson. He's always complaining he doesn't have enough staff."

"Better him than me." Again his tone took Teyla by surprise but this time John called him on it.

"What the hell is your problem Rodney?" If John's facial expression was any indication, Rodney had either better have a good explanation or be willing to keep his opinions to himself.

Rodney realized that maybe he'd gone a little too far. Not that he would ever admit to it but he was jealous of Jason. Sure Rodney was smart but he'd never been good with people. In high school he was always being picked on, that was when he started building the wall around himself and using his brains and ego to push other people away.

Things had been different here on Atlantis. His team, Elizabeth, hell even Carson had managed to look past his arrogance and ego. Somehow he managed to become friends with them. Even though he knew that Jason wouldn't take that all away there was still that voice in the back of his head saying that he would go back to the isolated boy he'd been in high school.

He resented Jason. Jason had been awake for 1 day and he'd already managed to build an easy rapport with Elizabeth. Rodney had never understood why people were so difficult for him when someone like Jason could walk in and make friends so easily. This was even worse because Jason was so much younger, he should've been more uncomfortable with the adults but he was calm, relaxed, and confident.

"I…" He stuttered for a moment. "I don't react to change well."

Ford just looked at Rodney like he was crazy. "But you're in the Pegasus galaxy doing research on a race that was millions of years old. How can you not react to change well?"

"I believe Aiden that Rodney was referring to Jason's abilities with what was it called…magic." Teyla added reasonably.

"It is not magic. There's no such thing." Rodney said reflexively. "He's just manipulating the ambient energy that pervades the universe. I'm sure there's some scientific explanation for it. Once I get a chance to run some tests, I'm sure…"

John immediately cut him off. "You will not be running any tests on my brother Rodney."

"But…"

"No, he is not your lab rat. And before you get the bright idea of approaching him to volunteer don't forget that he's a minor."

"I fail to see what that has to do with anything."

"It means that I'm the one that makes the decisions for him. And I'm telling you now, that I won't let you turn my brother into an experiment because you're upset he can do something you can't."

"Fine!"

**August 3****rd****, 19****97****Ministry of Magic, London UK**

It had been a long two days since the disaster on August 1st. Croaker's people were still trying to figure out what happened. As soon as Jason had activated the Veil, the alarms started ringing throughout the Ministry of Magic. The wards were collapsing and without those wards, the often conflicting magic that pervaded the building could've destabilized and destroyed the entire structure. But that's not what happened.

The wards weren't collapsing exactly, something was draining their power. Before Croaker and the rest of the agents had even reached the elevator, the wards had been completely drained. With the greatest source of power depleted, whatever drained the wards began draining the various enchantments and artifacts that littered the entire Ministry. Something, over the course of a handful of minutes, had managed to drain every non-living thing of magic within the entire structure.

With no magic or wards in place, there was nothing to stop them from apparating out of the building. Croaker ordered most of the agents out, leaving a select few to join him. Their goal was to inspect the floor and see what had been lost.

As the group slowly made their way from room to room, they would stop to inspect various artifacts to determine their condition. Time turners had been reduced to simple hour glasses. The vault containing the darkest artifacts ever found was now home to a collection of useless junk for which they were actually grateful. Even the Hall of Prophecies had been affected. The prophecy spheres had been reduced to paperweights. Without magic to sustain them, the prophecies contained within were lost.

Throughout the entire level, there wasn't a single ward, enchantment, or artifact left, save one. The Veil stood in the Death Chamber as it had for years. The tattered curtain fluttering occasionally and only partially covered the deep black field that filled the arch. They would later find out that the Veil was the only object within the entire Ministry of Magic that was still working. Unfortunately, Jason hadn't returned and with him gone, there was no one who could operate it.

Croaker still had a headache from his discussion with James and it was two days ago. There had only been a handful of times over the years that he'd ever seen James lose his temper. For a moment, he thought James might actually curse him.

Like everyone else, James had been distracted by the events of the day so he hadn't noticed Jason's absence until that evening. He'd rightly assumed that if something had happened, if Jason was hurt than he would've been contacted by Croaker. Instead he found a letter waiting for him on the dinner table when he got home.

For the first time since he'd attended Hogwarts, James had a bout of accidental magic. He hadn't known who to be angrier with Croaker or Jason. The windows and the contents of his dining room, plates, china cabinets, and picture frames exploded in a shower of glass when he let out a scream of rage. It actually took him a few minutes to realize that he was bleeding from dozens of small cuts on his face and arms. His clothes were torn in places from the flying glass and everything around him was lying in pieces on the floor.

James didn't even take the time to clean up or heal himself. His departure was marked by a loud _crack_ when he apparated to Croaker's home. He stood there pounding on their front door until it was finally opened. The poor woman on the other side didn't even have a chance to step aside before James barged in.

When Croaker heard his wife give a short scream, he quickly came out of the library with his wand ready. The sight of James covered in blood was not what he expected. "James, what is it? What's happened? Were you attacked?"

Finally, the object of his search was in front of him. James advanced slowly in Croaker's direction, his eyes practically glowing with his magic. "Where is he?" He asked in a deceptively calm voice while his hand clenched around his wand.

"Who James? Who did this to you?" Croaker wasn't thinking clearly otherwise he would've realized there was only one person that James would be asking about. The sight of James wounded and so clearly angry had thrown him off his game.

"You know damn well who I'm talking about!" James glared at him but when he saw that Croaker wasn't going to answer he practically yelled "Where's Jason?!"

Finally Croaker understood. Damn he really should've made sure that James knew what was going on before he let the kid go through with his experiment. "I think you know where he is James. Otherwise you wouldn't be here."

Some of the glass and stone work that marked the entrance of Croaker's home started to crack from the magic that was pouring off of James now. "You let my son go through the Veil? What the hell were you thinking?"

What Croaker was thinking was that he wanted to stun James right now but that probably wouldn't go over to well. Then he noticed his wife was still in the room with them. She was pale and shaking from fear. "Mary would you please get a healing potion for James." He said in a calm voice, much calmer than he actually felt. "I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't scare my wife James."

The apparent non sequitur of Croaker's statement confused James for a moment and calmed his anger a little. "Huh?"

"The blood that you're dripping on my entry-way floor or didn't you notice that you look like someone just off the frontlines of a war?"

James looked down at his arms and body. Croaker was right. When he looked up at Croaker, he was at least coherent but the anger was still there, behind his eyes. It was just waiting for a spark to ignite it once more.

Neither man said anything until Mary came back into the room with a healing potion in hand. She nervously handed it to James and then scuttled out of the room.

Seeing the way that he'd frightened his boss' wife made James feel a little guilty. After a hesitating for a second, James swallowed the potion down with a grimace. For some reason, healing potions were the worst tasting things he'd ever run across. The silence was broken by the soft sound of tinkling glass as little shards were forced out of his wounds and fell to the floor.

"Answers Croaker!" He demanded but he managed to keep his anger mostly in check this time. "And they better be good ones."

"Why don't we go into my den? At least there I can sit comfortably while you berate me." He didn't bother to wait to see if James followed. If the man wanted answers, he really had no choice.

James stood there stunned by the casual manner that Croaker had even though they were discussing the disappearance of his son. By the time that he got into the den, Croaker was already seated in a leather chair near the darkened fire place. There were two glasses filled with a double finger of fire whiskey sitting on a coffee table next to the chair.

Croaker motioned for James to sit in the empty chair on the opposite side of the coffee table.

Reluctantly, James took the chair, but he refused to touch the offered drink. Leaning back in the chair, James crossed his arms and waited for Croaker to give him the answers he wanted.

"Yes I allowed Jason to go through the Veil." Croaker said at last.

"Why didn't you send one of the other agents? Jason is just a kid." James argued.

"Well actually he's an adult. He did just turn 17 after all." Croaker joked. When James' face began to turn purple he added "But that's neither here nor there."

"So?"

"I didn't send Jason through. This whole thing has been his idea from the start. He came to me with the research he'd already done and together we made sure that there could be no mistakes in any of it."

"Yet my son is missing. Again, why didn't you send an older more experienced agent? Why haven't you sent someone else through?"

Before answering, Croaker leaned forward and picked up one of the glasses. He watched the amber liquid as he swirled it around the glass before taking a small sip. It was like liquid fire running down his throat and filling his stomach. After a few seconds, the feeling faded and Croaker began his explanation.

"We couldn't send someone else through for the same reason that we haven't sent someone to investigate. As Jason pointed out before we started, the Veil only responds to him. It was more than likely that the other end would only respond to him as well. Since he hasn't come back, we have no way of sending someone else."

"You could've been sending him into a trap. We don't know anything about these dreams he's been having." James argued half-heartedly. His anger was quickly being replaced by despair. What if Jason were dead? He may never know for sure. James wasn't sure that he could survive losing his son like that a second time.

"Yes James, they cunningly sent Jason dreams for 6 years before springing their trap. It was truly a masterful plan."

James didn't respond. He just sat there in the chair with his arms crossed and glared at the older man across from him.

"I'm not entirely kidding James. Whoever or whatever was responsible for those dreams was not trying to lure Jason into a trap. It just doesn't make any sense. No, either Jason is unable to get the Veil activated on the other side or he is needed for something."

James finally relaxed his body a little and took the second glass of fire whiskey. "Do you really think so?" At this point, he would grasp at any straw offered to him. Jason had to be ok. Then James remembered John and shuddered. For the first time since John left, James found himself hoping that the man would not be finished with his mission any time soon.

"I have every confidence that Jason will be back. And when he gets back I'm going to kick his sorry little ass. He promised he'd talk to you before going through the Veil."

James wanted to laugh but he couldn't find it in him to do so. The only thing he could do now was hope that Jason was ok and would come back to him.

**August 3****rd****, 19****97****Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

Jason sighed. He'd been in Atlantis for two days now and it seemed like all he did was have long discussions with adults. Now here he was sitting in Elizabeth Weir's office with his brother again. They had already spent close to an hour talking about his different options for what to do. He agreed with John that the Athosians while sounding nice wouldn't be a good place for him.

While on Earth he hadn't really thought too much about what he was going to study once in college. Now he was being offered a chance to work in the infirmary and be something of an apprentice to the doctor, Carson Beckett. Even now, he wasn't opposed to the idea; he just didn't know if it was something he was really interested in long term. But until he found a way to get back home or at least why he'd been drawn to the city, he would need something to do. Working with Carson would definitely be better than Rodney McKay.

"I'd like to do the medic thing. Not sure if I want to be a doctor but at least this way I can be useful."

"Excellent Jason, I'll give the good news to Carson." Elizabeth smiled, pleased with Jason's choice.

John jumped in. "There are some ground rules though."

John described some of the basic ground rules that Jason needed to aware of. The main thing was that Jason was not to wander into unexplored portions of the city. Both he and Elizabeth were deadly serious when they described some of the dangers that they'd already run into. The expedition had limited supplies and man power. In the interest of keeping everyone as safe as possible, Jason included, that meant taking a cautious approach towards exploration and testing of Ancient systems.

"We're not kidding Jason. If necessary I'll ship you off the mainland myself. This isn't like your little experiment to get here. Something that you inadvertently activate could have deadly consequences not just for you but for every man and woman living in Atlantis." For once, there wasn't a trace of humor or levity in John's voice or demeanor.

Jason swallowed nervously. It occurred to him that he would need to get used to seeing this side of John. Here, in Atlantis, John was more than his brother. He was the military commander and he wouldn't be able to coddle Jason the way he might have if they were back on Earth. "I…I understand. Can I ask something?"

Both adults shrugged.

"I assume I can go the areas of the city that have been explored. I mean, I'm not confined to my quarters or the infirmary am I?"

"No you're not confined to your quarters. Unless I need to punish for something anyway." John replied.

"Is there any other way I can help? Sure working with Carson will be good but it seems like people here are really busy and I can't spend all my time in the infirmary." Jason figured he might as well work as much as possible, it didn't seem like there was a lot to do. Certainly there was no TV to watch.

John grinned at him and Jason didn't find it particularly comforting. "Oh you don't have to worry about being bored. Since I can't ground you, you're going to help the kitchen staff with dinner cleanup for the next month and no you can't use magic."

"But…"

"Do you want more time?" Asked John. Seeing Jason shake his head quickly he went on. "You'll also be training with me. I want you certified on small arms should the city be attacked. And I want to see if you've kept up with your Aikido while I was away."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. Trust John to load his brother down with military training. "Jason, if you're willing, I'd like to try and cross reference some of the events you mentioned from your dreams with what we know of the war. It's possible that you might be able to give us some insight into the Wraith's tactics and potential weaknesses."

"Sure why wouldn't I be willing?" Asked Jason putting on a brave face but then he saw Elizabeth's eyes dart towards John and he knew the answer. "John, I'm not going to break. I'm not saying that the dreams weren't disturbing, but after 6 years I can handle going through the highlights." Then because he didn't want John to add to his time in the kitchens he added. "I am sorry for not telling you sooner. Like I said, I was afraid I'd get taken away from you."

John decided to accept Jason's reasoning. "I hope you know by now that I won't let anyone take you away from me."

Elizabeth felt like she was intruding on a private moment between the two Sheppards. She hadn't known John that long but she knew him well enough to know that such a public declaration was unusual from the normally private man.

"Unless you have something else Elizabeth, I'm going to give the little monster a tour." John said and stood from the chair.

"No just make sure you let Carson know the good news. Jason try and keep your brother out of trouble." Elizabeth said with a smile.

"Thank you Dr. Weir. I appreciate you making a place for me here."

Together, John and Jason left Elizabeth's office. "Is there anything in particular you wanted to see first?"

"Actually, is there a way to see the outside of the city? I've spent the last 6 years wandering around the inside."

John just clapped Jason on the back and gave him his lopsided grin. "Oh yeah, just follow me." Jason followed as John led them down the steps to the gate room and then into one of the side corridors. Not far from the gate room John entered a transporter that would take them to the top of the central tower. They stepped out of the transporter into the Puddle Jumper bay. It was a split level room filled with the small ships.

"Are those…Do they fly?" Jason stuttered.

"Come on."

Jason stared around in wonder. The things had no engines that he could see. Yet as soon as they walked up the rear hatch, the interior lights came on and the controls came to life. John sat down in the front-most chair on the left side of the ship and motioned for Jason to the seat next to him. The rear hatch was already sliding closed by the time Jason sat down.

The Puddle Jumper lifted off smoothly. Jason marveled at the fact that he couldn't feel anything, there was no drag, no feeling of movement at all. Any surprise or amazement he felt was forgotten when he got a look at the city. It was beautiful. The city itself was shaped like a snowflake with tall graceful buildings gracing each of the six piers.

"It's incredible isn't it? I still haven't gotten used to even after all these months." Muttered John.

"Can I fly?"

John just glanced at Jason incredulously. "No, not after you crashed my model airplane."

"I was 10 are you ever going to let that go?!"

"No."

There were many things Jason could say to that but settled on "Jerk." To which John did nothing but laugh.

They spent close to an hour just slowly circling the city. Eventually Jason broke the silence. "John, will you be there when we start going through the war?"

Resisting the urge to stare at Jason, John asked instead. "Jason I thought you told Elizabeth you were ok. If you don't feel like you can do this, you don't have to."

"It's just…I don't know any of these people. I'd be a lot more comfortable with someone I know there with me."

"Of course I'll be there." John said simply. "Why don't we head back and get something to eat?"

"Sure." Jason watched as John guided the ship back towards the central spire. "John is there a room that has…I don't know how to describe it…a holographic woman? There'd be a pedestal of some sort that you use to control it. It's kind of like a database."

It took a few minutes for John to answer. First he finished landing the jumper. Once they were down, he gave the question some thought. Then he remembered it. In fact, he wondered if anyone had been back since they first arrived. "There is. It was where we first learned about the war. Why do you want to see it?"

"I spent a lot of time there and I want to see if it is the same." He replied honestly.

"Well, I don't see the harm. Afterwards we can get some lunch."

There was a comfortable silence between them as they walked towards the room. John was frequently reminded that Jason did in fact know the layout of the city, possibly better the he did. He had the distinct impression that Jason could have led them straight to the room if John would've let him.

"I still can't believe that everything looks exactly like I've been dreaming." Muttered Jason as they entered what had come to be known as the holo-room. Looking a little nervously at John, he asked "Can I try it for a minute?"

"Sure, knock yourself out."

John watched as Jason ran his hand lightly over the controls on the pedestal before stepping on. Almost immediately the holographic figure of the Ancient female appeared before them. But instead of beginning on the history of Atlantis as she had when John was last in the room, she appeared to be looking directly at Jason, studying him intently.

If it was possible, John would've said that she sagged with relief at what she saw.

"At last you've arrived."

Jason shot a confused look at John. "Does she always address you directly?"

John moved up to stand next to Jason. His hand reflexively moved for his sidearm. "No, this is new."

"You have no need of weapons with me John Sheppard. I have been waiting a long time for this day."

"Who are you?" John asked suspiciously, his hand still resting on the butt of his 9mm.

"I was once known as Delus." She took a step closer to Jason and frowned. "I apologize. I had no idea you were so young."

"You were responsible weren't you? Why did you do it?" He didn't need to explain what he was referring to, all three of them knew.

"You're an Ancient aren't you?" Asked John suddenly while simultaneously moving to stand next Jason. "What did you do to my brother?" He was debating whether he should radio for security but for now this woman for lack a better word did not seem to be threatening.

"I've been sentenced to this world for so long, condemned to watch events unfold without being to change them. 6 years ago I sensed an awakening. Though I'm privy to the secrets of the universe, even I am not omniscient. I did not know that you were so young or even that you would have to come from our original home world."

"Awakening? I don't understand, do you mean the gene that my brother has? Do I have the same one?"

"You are different then your brother. Before the plague, all of my kind had the ability to manipulate reality to some extent. Those who had the greatest ability were the first to be struck down by the great plague. By the time we fled the galaxy, only a handful remained. Their numbers continued to dwindle during our time in the Pegasus galaxy until the ability was all but erased in our kind or so we thought.

When we finally recognized the Wraith as a threat we keyed our technology to a unique sequence that was still strong in the survivors. That is the sequence contained in your brother's genetic code. It is possible that this sequence is what enabled us to survive the plague.

Those who returned to your galaxy intermingled with your ancestors passing down the sequence possessed by your brother and by yourself. Your abilities could only have come from any survivors of the plague that remained behind."

"So you're saying that I have both of these genes and that's why I am a wizard and John isn't?"

"Yes. Something happened to you 6 years ago that forced you to use your abilities in such a way that it sent ripples across the ascended plane. I knew that once again one of our kind walked the physical plane."

There was only one thing that had happened that could be the explanation and that was the attack that killed their mother. "Ok but still why send me dreams? Why was it so important for me to come here?"

"You must understand that the leaders of my kind have forbidden us from affecting the course of events. I could not abide by these rules in the past and was punished for it. I've been banished to this world condemned to watch events unfold but prevented from acting for millennia. When I sensed one of us had taken physical form, I knew that it was my chance to save this galaxy.

My time grows short, the longer I stay the greater the chance of attracting the attention of the others. You must understand that the Wraith are not you greatest foe that you will face. You must learn of Malus, one of our greatest scientists. Through his words will you learn of the threat facing both galaxies. His research by its very nature required the greatest protection we could offer. Only you, with both gene sequences will be able to unlock the secrets. Now, I can say no more without risking further punishment."

Both John and Jason had more questions that they wanted to ask but Delus had already disappeared, leaving behind the normal hologram that John remembered from his first visit to this room. Not knowing what to say Jason said "So I assume we're not going to lunch just yet."

"That would be no." His mind was spinning. Now that they had an idea of why Jason was in Atlantis he wished that he could go back to being ignorant. "Come on, we need to talk to Elizabeth and Rodney."

Jason rolled his eyes as he jogged to catch up to John. Elizabeth was a given, but why did they have to include that guy? "Ughh, do we have to include Rodney? He's such an ass."

No sooner had he asked the question then he was getting a swat on the back of his head. "Rodney is the senior scientist. He may be able to help us find clues on this Malus guy."

"I notice you didn't say he wasn't an ass." Jason muttered only to get hit again. "Hey!"


	6. Piece of the Puzzle

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

**A/N: ****Spoilers for SGA 1.13 Hot Zone and 1.14 Sanctuary.**** I won't be doing summaries or tags for every episode but these two were necessary.**

**Chapter ****6****Piece of the Puzzle**

**August 3****rd****, 19****97****Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

Jason again found himself sitting in Elizabeth's office. He was rapidly coming to hate these discussions. Why did they have to dissect everything? Couldn't they just pass information on and let it go from there? To be fair, it seemed that John and Elizabeth were willing to do just that, but Rodney was a different story.

It hadn't taken long to gather Rodney from his lab and bring him to Elizabeth's office. Jason was more than happy to let John explain what happened. Despite his experiences of the past 6 years, John had more direct knowledge of what was going on and the different players involved.

Elizabeth was torn between being shocked and disappointed. Shocked that there was an ascended Ancient watching over the planet and disappointed that she hadn't been there to see for herself and to talk to her. She was happy that it seemed to answer some of their questions about Jason though.

Rodney couldn't help it. The combination of discovering an Ancient in their midst and the fact that Jason was one of the people to make the discovery was like pouring salt on an open wound. What would a kid know about talking to an Ancient? It was such a wasted opportunity.

Trying and failing to hide his frustration, Rodney looked at John with a severe frown on his face. "Why didn't you call me?"

John was mystified by Rodney's attitude since Jason's demonstration. The man was often disagreeable but lately it had changed and not for the better. Perhaps it was because Jason's abilities threw his understanding of the universe into question or maybe it was simple jealousy. Either way, John was getting tired of it.

"What would you've done McKay? It's not like she was just waiting around for tea and biscuits."

"John, Rodney we won't get anywhere by arguing. The fact of the matter is that we have an Ancient around that may or may not be back. And more importantly, we have one more piece to the puzzle about Jason's reason for being here." Elizabeth said reasonably.

"Fine but if I'd been there perhaps someone would've asked some intelligent questions, like where to find more ZPMs. Instead we have this fairy tale about genetic markers and fearsome enemies." Snapped Rodney.

"Why are you such a jerk?" Snapped Jason. Then he turned his head to face Elizabeth and John. "I'm sorry, but he is."

"Does he have to be here?" Rodney said while crossing his arms like a petulant child.

"Yes I do. In case you weren't listening. Delus was talking to me and why I needed to be in Atlantis. So I would think that means I need to be here." Explained Jason in a very patronizing tone. "Look I get that your view of the universe has been changed by all this but if the Ancients had the same ability why is it so hard for you to accept it in other humans?" He was trying to be reasonable; hopefully John appreciated how much effort he was going to.

All eyes turned to Rodney now and waited for him to answer. "The idea that you can manipulate the fabric of the universe is ridiculous. It's impossible."

John rolled his eyes; Rodney was obviously vacationing in the land of denial. "Jason you've made your point. Let's just move one before you kill each other."

Rodney felt vindicated by John's remark. His own actions were being ignored and only Jason was being talked to. So John must agree with him.

Jason on the other hand knew his brother much better. He wasn't being reprimanded, John was just asking him to let things go for now. For John he would but he promised himself that he would avoid the man as much as possible. It just wasn't worth the fight. "What do we do now?"

"There isn't much to do in the short term." Began Elizabeth. "We begin searching the Ancient database for any mention of the Ancient scientist Malus. Until we have a better idea of what his work was there is nothing else that we can do."

The three men prepared to leave when Elizabeth asked Jason to stay behind for a moment. "Jason, don't worry you're not in trouble."

Jason had been standing a little nervously unsure of why Elizabeth had asked him to hang back. "Did you need something Dr. Weir?"

"I wanted to apologize for Dr. McKay. He's not normally so disagreeable." She said diplomatically.

"It's ok."

"I would also like to meet with you tomorrow to go over the war." There was more that Elizabeth wanted to say. She wanted to make sure that Jason was adjusting to Atlantis but at present she didn't know how he'd react. John was undoubtedly keeping an eye on him and would let her know if there were any issues. "Of course John can be there as well."

"Sure. I'd like to get it over with sooner rather than later."

"Jason if you ever need to talk to someone…"

"Thank you Dr. Weir, I appreciate the offer." Jason left her office and was unsurprised to find John waiting for him.

Jason quickly filled John in. He didn't want his brother to worry about what Elizabeth had to say to him. Together, they headed off to the cafeteria to grab a long overdue lunch. Along the way they bumped into Teyla and asked her to join them. Jason in particular was glad that he got along with at least one of John's team members. Ford seemed ok but he hadn't had a chance to really talk to him yet.

In the cafeteria, the three sat down and talk about Teyla's people and what Jason would be doing while in Atlantis. Before they left after finishing their lunch, John invited Teyla to spar with them. He was going to see how Jason was doing with his martial arts. At first Teyla had been confused, unsure of what they were referring to until John explained that it was similar to her people's style of fighting only that it was unarmed.

"Hopefully you will prove to be more a challenge than Major Sheppard."

"I'm getting better. I just haven't had much time to practice lately." Protested John.

"John always was a little lazy; hopefully you've been keeping him in line." Said Jason with a grin.

"In line? I do not understand."

"You know make sure he doesn't relax too much and get too fat."

"Ahh in that case yes I do keep him in line."

Before heading to the gym, they stopped at their quarters to get clothes more appropriate for sparring. A short while later, Teyla watched while Jason and John fell into the familiar Aikido forms and began to fight. Teyla found herself a little surprised, she wouldn't have suspected that John was as talented as he appeared given his lack of progress with the stick fighting she was teaching him. Jason too appeared to be on par with the boys his age from her people. Perhaps he would like to learn the stick fighting as well.

**August 23****rd****, 19****97****Elsewhere in the Pegasus Galaxy**

Shez'la, the Wraith Lord, stared down at the corpse at his feet disdainfully. The few humans that remained in suspension were pathetic. There was no resistance or will to fight left in them. They were bland and boring providing nothing more than basic sustenance.

Another Wraith approached him. "Shez'la, the damage to the ship has been repaired. We are ready to depart."

Over the course of centuries, the elements and time had inflicted minor damage to the hive ship. Before they could take off, the repairs needed to be completed thus delaying the culling of the nearby worlds for a little longer. Normally this would not be a problem but there had been reports of territorial fighting amongst the other hive ships. It seemed that they had all awoken too soon. The herd was not yet large enough to support them all.

The situation just increased the need to find a new source of nourishment. The location of Earth had become a priority for most hive ships but Shez'la was also interested in the survival and reappearance of the Lanteans. With their city under his control, he would be able to extend his control over the entire Wraith population.

"Are the cruisers ready as well?"

"Yes all our forces are prepared. We wait only for your word and the destination. Are we to bring the war back to the Lanteans once again?"

Shez'la had already given this some thought. He could send his forces to assault the last known position of the Lantean city but he could be bogged down for years if the last siege was any indication. No, it would be better to let the other Hive Ships break their teeth on the defenses and soften the Lanteans for him. It would make his eventual domination of the other Wraith much easier as well.

"No we will let the others wear down the Lanteans' defenses. We need to refill our stores. I hope this time we can find some food with a little life in it. The last batch was hardly worth feeding on."

**August 23****rd****, 19****97****Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

The next three weeks were something of a mixed bag for both Jason and the rest of the Atlantis expedition. Elizabeth had given him a couple of days to get settled in and adjust to life in Atlantis before beginning his work with Carson. It had been nice to relax and do nothing. On Earth, his life was never dull between school, friends, baseball and training Jason was always on the go. He found it a little ironic that the first time he got the chance to really relax was when he was stranded in another galaxy.

During those two days, he'd met a few more members of the expedition. Radek Zelenka was another scientist that worked with Rodney. Jason was pleasantly surprised to find that the man was friendly and didn't seem to have a chip on his shoulder like Dr. McKay. Of course, not everyone knew about Jason's abilities yet so it was possible that his attitude would change but he seemed a little less rigid than Rodney, more open to ideas that could put his view of the world in question.

But the person he got along the best with was Aiden Ford, the youngest member of John's gate team. He was a lieutenant in the Marines but was only 24 years old so he was one of the closest to Jason's age. They had a lot in common from their interests in sports and comic books to sharing stories about John. Of course, Jason felt it was his personal duty to share some embarrassing stories about John on occasion. After all, he didn't want John's ego to get too big.

Aiden had even taken to sparring with Jason. It was different from the time he spent with John. During those sessions, John was always concerned about Jason's safety either during the sparring session or in the future. With Aiden, it was like being back in class. There was no other motivation than the simple challenge of it.

Unfortunately one person who had not warmed up to Jason was Rodney. Even though it meant seeing less of John, Jason did his best to keep his distance. Since John regularly had breakfast with his team, Jason ate with Carson and the other medical staff. He resented the fact that he had to avoid his brother but Dr. Weir had asked him to keep the peace with Rodney and this was the only way he knew how.

Luckily, his work in the infirmary with Carson was going much better. Jason truly liked the man. He was kind and friendly and seemed to have an endless supply of patience. Of course, that was probably necessary when he was dealing with patients like Rodney or even his brother.

His work hadn't been particularly exciting but that wasn't unexpected. After all, he was only 17 and didn't have any previous medical training beyond the CPR certification he'd received the previous year in high school. For the time being, Carson had him doing small things. In the three weeks since he'd started working with Carson, Jason had been trained to take blood, administer IVs, and provide injections.

Even though the tasks were something that didn't require much training it still helped to free up the medical staff. While Jason took care of the little things, the nurses and other doctors had more time to review test results or simply conduct research.

All that changed one morning. Jason had been eating breakfast when a call came in over the radio. There was some sort of medical emergency called in by McKay and the team he'd been leading. They were inspecting the uninhabited portions of the city to see if there had been any structural damage from the recent storms and Genii invasion.

From what Jason had picked up, two of the scientists were dead due to some unknown medical contagion. There were concerns that the cause might be airborne in which case the rest of the team and military escort may have been infected already. As much as he wanted to join Carson, Jason remained silent just listening in on the medical band of the radio. There was nothing that he could do and he hadn't received any real training yet so he was forced to follow Elizabeth's instructions to stay where he was in the cafeteria.

Outside the cafeteria, Becket along with Rodney discovered that it wasn't a virus or bacterial agent that was killing people, it was a nanovirus. Specifically, the nanovirus targeted those people that did not have the ATA gene. They'd been able to determine that the nanovirus killed in a matter of hours and was airborne making it highly contagious. Given that each of the three victims had died of a cerebral hemorrhage it was also fatal.

While Carson and his team were working with Rodney to figure out a way of stopping the nanovirus, John and Teyla had broken quarantine and were pursuing a scientist from Rodney's team, Dr. Peterson. He'd escaped from the group and in his panic was fleeing towards the main part of the city where he could inadvertently infect anyone he came in contact with.

In their pursuit of Dr. Peterson, John forced Elizabeth to lift the lockdown from part of the city which had cut all the power to that section making doors and transports inoperable. If she hadn't done so, they would've been unable to reach the man. Unfortunately, by lifting the lockdown, they also reactivated the transporters.

John and Teyla had cornered Dr. Peterson and were holding him at gunpoint. In desperation, the scientist turned and ran towards an open transporter in the room. Just before the transporter doors closed, John shot the man but he and Teyla were too late to stop him from activating the transporter.

Seconds later, the transporter doors in the cafeteria opened and Dr. Peterson staggered out. He was bleeding profusely from a gunshot wound in his shoulder and after taking a few steps, collapsed to the floor unconscious.

Jason and a few others rushed over to do what they could to help the man. At the same time, someone radioed Elizabeth to let her know what had happened. By this time Rodney and Carson had figured a way to stop the virus which forced John and Teyla to split up. John went to help with the cure and Teyla went to the cafeteria.

When Teyla arrived in the cafeteria, people were starting to panic. Jason was staying out of the way, he was trying to decide if he should act or not. Unfortunately his hand was forced when people started to get violent in their mindless panic. One woman even went so far as to attack Teyla. Rather than let things escalate further, Jason sent out a pulse of magic stunning everyone in the room.

"Dr. Weir, this is Jason Sheppard." He said into the radio.

"Jason what's your situation?" She had the time to talk now. John was currently loading one of their generators into a Puddle Jumper. The plan was to detonate it above the city, generating a massive EMP that would disable the nanovirus.

"Umm…Dr. Weir I was forced to stun everyone in the cafeteria when they started to panic. We were on the verge of a riot in here."

"And Teyla is she ok?" Teyla was supposed to be in the cafeteria trying to get a handle on Dr. Peterson.

"She tried to calm everyone down, but things just escalated. I stunned everyone when she was attacked. There's also a scientist down here who has been shot. He's alive but I don't know for how much longer. Is there a medical team that can be sent over?"

"I'm afraid not. We hope this will all be over in the next twenty minutes. As soon as we are out of lock-down I will have a medical team sent immediately. Jason was anyone else hurt when you did whatever it was you did to stun them?"

Elizabeth noticed that Sergeant Bates was memorizing every word. She could almost picture the gears turning in the man's head. Her next conversation with the man was going to go in one of two directions. Either he was going want to know everything Jason could do and put it to use protecting the city or and this was the more likely direction he would want Jason sent over to the mainland to remove a potential risk.

Jason laughed softly. "Oh they'll be fine. Some of them might have a light headache but they'll be up an around in the next 45 minutes or so."

"Thank you Jason, I appreciate you keeping everyone safe."

Not much later, John detonated the generator 20 miles above the city which generated an EMP strong enough to neutralize the nanovirus everywhere in the city. The nanovirus was killed in time to save the majority of Atlantis' residents but Dr. Peterson died before they were able to get a medical team to the cafeteria. In addition to him, there were another four dead.

After making a report to Elizabeth and getting into a brief argument with her for violating quarantine, John met up with Jason. "I heard you helped Teyla out today."

Jason nodded while continuing to walk towards his quarters. "I guess my secret won't be secret for long."

After all these years, John knew Jason well enough to notice that he was nervous about something. "Come on, I smuggled food into my quarters a while ago. It's nothing special but you probably have seen enough of the cafeteria today."

Shrugging, Jason followed John into his quarters. The food John had on hand turned out to be nothing more than MREs, meals-ready-to-eat. Jason watched as John put together two plates of spaghetti and meatballs. The mass sitting in front of him on the plate almost had Jason reconsidering heading back to the cafeteria. Despite the quality of the food, the two brothers were mostly silent while they ate.

"Are you ok? I heard about Dr. Peterson." Asked John suddenly.

The question took Jason by surprise. "I'm ok I guess. It was different from Voldemort. We tried to save him but he was too badly hurt." In truth, he wasn't really sure how he felt about it. A part of him felt bad that the man died but the rational part of Jason was telling him that there was nothing he could've done. He'd learned very little healing magic and had no training that could've helped.

"He was dead already. Carson doesn't think he would've survived. The nanovirus had done too much damage even before the EMP." John said trying to reassure his brother. He moved to put the dishes by the sink in his bathroom. John would bring them back to the cafeteria later.

"Really?" Jason knew it shouldn't matter but it really did make it easier to accept. And he knew that John wouldn't lie to him about something like this. Of course, Peterson's death wasn't the only thing on his mind.

"Yeah and you can ask Carson for yourself. He'll tell you the same thing." John moved over and laid out on his bed with his hands behind his head. "Now do you want to tell me what's really bothering you?"

Jason sighed and sagged back on his chair. "My secret is out already. There's no way that Elizabeth will be able to keep what I did in the cafeteria quiet."

"Magic wasn't going to stay secret for very long anyway. Either Rodney would've let it slip or someone else would've."

Now they got to the heart of the matter. Jason didn't really care that people knew. More than anything though, he was worried they'd either be afraid of him or look at him like a lab rat. "How are people going to react?"

"We fighting aliens that can suck the life out of you and we are living in a city that is millions of years old. They'll be weirded out but they'll get over it." John said honestly. "Remember what I said to Rodney though. Anyone that wants to run tests or have you experiment with some piece of technology has to go through me."

"Thanks John." At least that was one thing he wouldn't have to deal with.

Unfortunately not everyone was so sanguine about Jason's abilities. In fact there was one person that was very disturbed by them and the risk they might pose to the security of the city.

Sergeant Bates was standing in Dr. Weir's office. As she had with Major Sheppard, she'd been extremely upset with him for violating her orders. She only relented because Major Sheppard was his superior officer and thus ultimately reported to him.

"Ma'am why didn't you inform me of Jason Sheppard's abilities?" Bates was standing at attention with his hands clasped behind his back. Despite the professional tone of his words, Elizabeth could see the anger behind his eyes.

"You didn't need to know Sergeant." Elizabeth said bluntly. The events of the day had not endeared her to the military contingent. Consequently, she was not in the mood to play around.

"As head of security I should've been made aware of the threat as soon as you learned of it."

"Threat? What threat? John Sheppard's brother has been completely open with me since he arrived in the city."

"Frankly ma'am you have way of knowing if he's been honest with you or not. What's to stop him from using these abilities to help the Wraith?" Bates by his nature was suspicious of virtually everyone and everything. Someone with abilities like Jason's rang every alarm he had.

"What has Jason Sheppard done that leads you to believe that he could possibly be working for the Wraith?" At times, the man's paranoia was ridiculous. How would it even be possible for Jason to have had contact with the Wraith? Still, she would need to talk to Jason and John. It may be best to keep his dreams between the three of them; it wouldn't be too difficult to come up with an alternative reason for his knowledge.

"How is it possible that he showed up here with no explanations? The SGC would not send some kid through the Stargate even if they had a ZPM. He's an unknown quantity and we can't trust him." Argued Bates.

"I imagine this is why we're having this discussion without Major Sheppard here."

"He can't be expected to be objective where his brother is concerned. In the interest of city security I felt it best to take the matter up with you directly."

It was a fairly well known secret that Bates did not have much confidence in Major Sheppard's ability to lead the military forces on Atlantis. Like Colonel Sumner before him, Sergeant Bates did not approve of John's history of violating the chain of command and was not above going behind John's back to sabotage him. Ironically, this made him more like Major Sheppard than Colonel Sumner.

"And what would you have me do with him?" Elizabeth asked curiously.

"We should send him to the mainland. Among the Athosians he won't pose any risk to the city. At a minimum, if you're going to insist on allowing him to stay in the city, which would be a mistake by the way, he should have a guard assigned to him."

Elizabeth couldn't help herself. She was in possession of information that the Sergeant was not. It might be petty but there were times when she needed to assert her authority and at least give the illusion that she was in the know. In this case Jason had given her the perfect opportunity. "I see you've given this some thought. I appreciate the devotion you've shown in your duties to protect this city, even going so far as violate the chain of command you have so much faith in."

There was a brief moment of pleasure when she saw Bates scowl. Regardless of his reasoning by his own practices he should've approached John first and only come to her if John chose to ignore the problem.

"But there is a problem Sergeant, I am privy to information you are not."

"And what information is that ma'am? What makes you so sure he isn't a risk to the city?"

"Jason Sheppard's abilities are known to both the British and American governments. In fact he has Top Secret clearance and was told about the Stargate program before our departure." She said more than a little smugly.

"Top Secret clearance? Why does he have a security clearance at all, he's 17 years old?"

"Honestly, I don't know. His security clearance is higher than mine. Last I heard General O'Neill was trying to get his level increased so he could find out himself." She laughed.

"Very well ma'am, but I still don't trust him."

"Dismissed Sergeant." She wouldn't change the Sergeant's mind but hopefully she'd at least managed to take some of the heat off of John and Jason.

**September 2****nd****, 19****97****Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

Things had quieted down since the outbreak. John had been right. At first people were a little leery or standoffish around Jason but after a few days most people began treating him normally again. There were a few people, notably Sergeant Bates and a few of the scientists that were still suspicious of him. Though in the case of the scientists, Jason wasn't sure if they were suspicious of him or just wanted to put him under their microscopes.

The infirmary had been a welcome refuge in those early days. Since Carson was familiar with the wizarding world already he'd not been surprised or nervous about the events in the cafeteria. The other doctors and nurses seemed to take their cue from Carson and treated Jason just like they always had.

Jason was surprised to find himself actually enjoying his time in the infirmary. Carson was very patient with him and allowed him to observe what he was doing. When appropriate, Carson would allow Jason to help out and since the outbreak, he had begun training Jason to use the equipment to run tests and understand the readings.

"Carson is it always so quiet in here? There's been barely anyone in here for days now." Asked Jason one day over lunch. There'd been no one in with injuries in a couple of days so most of the doctors were working on personal research.

Carson put his drink down before answering. "Actually we're usually much busier. Gate travel was suspended and that always cuts down on the traffic through the infirmary. It has been strange not seeing Major Sheppard around though." He finished with a laugh.

"What do you mean?" Jason asked around a mouthful of food. He wasn't quite sure what Beckett was getting at.

"Oh no offense, but your brother is a trouble magnet. There's a running joke that we should have a bed permanently assigned to him in the infirmary."

Jason leaned forward in his chair like he was getting ready to share a secret. "He was the same way back on Earth. I always thought it was his way of meeting woman."

"That would be true only if he stayed in the infirmary. Truth is your brother gives me more headaches than anyone else. Always rushing out and never following orders." Carson lamented.

"Carson, Carson, Carson…you need to work on that a bit." Carson's intentions were clear. The only question was whether he would make it worth his while to become a co-conspirator.

Carson grimaced a little and then leaned in as well. This wouldn't be nearly as effective if Major Sheppard got wind of his plan. "Am I that obvious lad?"

"What do you want me to do Carson?" The answer to Carson's question was plain on Jason's face.

Carson explained his plan. The next time John was injured it would be Jason's responsibility to make sure that Carson's orders were followed. It was evident that Carson held Jason's powers of persuasion in high esteem. Really, Jason didn't need any convincing after all it was his job as John's little brother to make his life difficult.

Even as Carson was convincing Jason to do his dirty work, John and his team were getting ready for their next mission. So in Carson's mind that meant that he would soon be seeing John in his infirmary in the next day or two. It seemed practically inevitable.

Much to Jason's amusement, Carson was correct. The team came back the next day with John limping through the gate supported by Ford and Rodney. It wasn't anything serious. Apparently, the ground had given way underneath John's feet on their way back to the gate and he'd sprained his ankle. Still, it was a perfect opportunity to put Carson's plan into action. With a minor injury like this, John would be ignoring Carson's orders virtually immediately even though he could potentially cause himself further harm.

Since it was just a sprained ankle, Carson didn't keep John in the infirmary but he did ask Jason to walk him back to his quarters.

John didn't waste any time breaking the doctor's orders. They'd barely made it around the corner before John ditched his crutches.

"John what are you doing? Dr. Beckett said you need to keep your weight off your ankle." Jason hissed when he caught sight of what John was doing.

"Awww Carson always overreacts to everything. I don't need these. My ankle will be fine."

"I thought you were going to be there tomorrow when Elizabeth and I go over what I know of the Wraith war?" Jason still hadn't moved from his spot. He wasn't going to let John keep walking on his ankle if he could avoid it.

"Of course I'll be there, why wouldn't I?"

"Because if you screw up your ankle any more, you know that Carson is going to lock you in the infirmary." Jason argued. He'd crossed his arms to show he was not kidding around.

"Oh come on. Nothing is going to happen."

"Thanks John. It's nice to know you can't even be bothered with a pair of crutches. I'll remember that tomorrow when I'm alone with Elizabeth."

"Jason I'm fine, honestly."

"Are you willing to take that chance?"

"Fine, fine. I'll use the damn crutches."

Jason was careful to hide his grin. It wouldn't do him any good if John caught him.

The next day John and Jason met up with Elizabeth in the holo-room. During their walk, Jason couldn't help smirking when John emerged from his quarters on his crutches. Still, they made it to the room only a couple of minutes late.

A couple of weeks prior they'd confirmed some of the key events that Jason had witnessed. Now the three of them were meeting to go through the war in more detail. Elizabeth would use the database to provide additional details as necessary.

The Ancients first became aware of the Wraith more than 2,000 years before the war started. They'd noticed that on certain planets the human inhabitants were slowly being hunted by a race they hadn't encountered before. The attack itself bore some semblance to a parasitic insect, the eratus bug, which was indigenous to only a single planet in the galaxy. The race that was attacking the inhabitants drained them of life leaving behind withered husks.

Scouts determined that the all humans had been wiped out from the eratus bug's home planet. In the place of the humans was a moderately advanced race of bipedal beings. Because the beings were not a threat to the Ancients, the decision was made to leave them alone. If they ever became a threat only then would they act. Until that time the lesser developed races must stand on their own to overcome any danger posed by these beings.

Despite the decision to let the situation go on unchecked, scientists observed the beings from orbit in cloaked vessels. At one point, they stunned one of the beings and took genetic samples. They were surprised to find that the beings appeared to be a combination of humans and the eratus bugs. They could only guess that during the feeding process the eratus bugs absorbed some of the human genetic code and passed it on to their offspring. The end result was a being that appeared mostly human but still absorbed the life force of others to survive.

A second discovery made by the scientists had brought about the first change in Ancient technology in millennia. Ancient DNA seemed to be largely incompatible with the eratus bug DNA. It wouldn't prevent them from being fed upon but it should safeguard against any of these beings evolving with Ancient DNA. As a result, a security measure was added to Ancient technology that prevented those without a specific gene sequence from making use of it.

Years passed and the Ancients did nothing more than watch as the Wraith as they were now called by the humans in the galaxy expanded their territory. Their technology had advanced so that they were now capable of space travel but in order to travel between star systems they were still dependent upon the Stargates. This helped to limit their advances and at the same time it kept the size of their space ships relatively small.

Because they were still so technologically primitive compared to the Ancients, the ruling council decided that their current policy of non-involvement should continue. A key argument for the continuation of this policy was the change to the Wraith tactics. Rather than wipe a population out, the Wraith were only taking a portion now and leaving the rest behind to rebuild. Though the council was united in their decision, there was a small but growing number of Ancients that were opposed to this policy.

The opposition felt that it was their responsibility as an advanced race to look out for the other humans in the galaxy. The Wraith presented a threat to them that they were not equipped to handle on their own. Unless they received outside help, the humans would be wiped out eventually.

Despite the growing unrest amongst the Ancients, the situation remained relatively unchanged. The Wraith continued their slow advance across the galaxy. Planets continued to fall under their sway but it was a very gradual process. The lack of hyperspace capable ships limited both their speed and numbers significantly.

That all changed approximately 100 years before the start of the war. The Wraith, while still technologically inferior, developed a viable hyperdrive. In the span of 100 years, the Wraith had built massive ships that were used to bring world after world under their control. None of the human worlds were able to stand up to the Wraith onslaught. Even where the Wraith did not have an advantage technologically, they were able to overwhelm their opponents with sheer numbers.

Finally, the Ancients couldn't stand by on the side lines any longer. Atlantis and the other Ancient outposts were finally going to war. Initial skirmishes were promising for the Ancients. The weapons and shield systems on their ships were far superior to those on the Wraith ships giving them a distinct advantage. The battles were often over in minutes after swarms of glowing drones tore apart the Wraith cruisers and Hive ships. Any weapons fire from the Wraith ships were simply absorbed by the shields protecting the Ancient ships.

Hopes of an easy victory were gone after the first few months of the war. Initial advances were halted by vast fleets of Wraith vessels and coordinated strikes through the Stargates. More human worlds fell and even a few worlds that were home to an Ancient Outpost.

The Ruling Council was at a loss. Despite superior technology and tactics, their forces were being pushed back. Many of the outlying colonies had already fallen leaving only their major planets and the war had been on for less than 10 years. The defenses on their remaining holdings were strong though, consisting of a combination of space fleets and land based defenses. It was felt that they could hold out long enough for their scientists to develop a weapon to win the war.

Years passed and world after world fell. The Wraith had continued to spread throughout the galaxy until the only free worlds that remained were those under the protection of the Ancients. In desperation one of their greatest scientist Malus along with a hand-picked team began development of a new weapon system that was expected to change the course of the war.

After years of research and development that was spread across multiple worlds Malus and his team were nearing completion. Then disaster struck. The transport carrying Malus' and his team back to Atlantis was attacked by a Wraith fleet. In the ensuing battle the prototype they were transporting was destroyed and the scientists were captured.

A rescue mission was put together quickly. Amazingly the Ancient forces were able to intercept the Wraith fleet in time to rescue Malus but the rest of his team was killed. With the destruction of the prototype, the war effort degenerated further until only Atlantis remained. The wraith laid siege to the city for years before the Ancients finally gave into the inevitable. They submerged the city and left for Earth.

The three had spent most of the day in the holo-room going over the highlights of the war. Jason felt like a small burden had been lifted from him. All the anxiety, all the fear and doubt that he'd been through for the last six years was over. "God I'm glad that's over."

Elizabeth looked over at him from her place at the pedestal. "Thank you Jason, I appreciate you doing this. I just wish we'd found something more concrete."

"Well I agree with Jason, I'm just happy we don't have to put him through any more."

"Is there any other mention of Malus? That was the name we were told to search for." Pressed Jason. He moved over to stand next to Elizabeth. He looked over her shoulder as she typed in a search sequence rather than use the voice recognition features. "Why don't you just ask about Malus?"

John was watching from his position near the door. They'd dragged a chair in earlier so he wouldn't have to stand the entire time on his sprained ankle. "Elizabeth doesn't like it. She thinks it's too much like Star Trek." John grinned unrepentantly from his position when Elizabeth glared at him.

"I do not. It's just easier for me to type in a search than to vocalize it. I can be more exact." Elizabeth responded primly.

Ignoring any further questions and commentary from the Sheppard brothers, Elizabeth finished typing in her search and executed it. There were only a handful of references that were returned. Most of it was information that they were already aware of. None of it pointed out the location of his lab.

"Why wouldn't they record the location of his lab?" Asked Jason. It was so frustrating. They'd just spent the day going through everything and they'd even managed to find a handful of references to the guy he was supposed to look for. To add to that frustration, the man was working on some weapon to use against the Wraith.

John spoke up. "Security maybe, in case the Wraith ever took someone prisoner or managed to get into their computer systems. Malus' location and research would've been secure."

Elizabeth stepped down from the pedestal. "That doesn't help us though. How are we supposed to find whatever it was that he was working on if we don't even know where to look?"

"We'll just have to keep looking. And if we make contact with Earth again we can see if the SGC ever found any references to the guy." Reasoned John. "Come on, I need something to eat." He struggled to his feet, teetering a little before he balanced himself on his crutches.

"Jeez John do you do anything but eat?"

"You're the one who wanted me to follow Carson's instructions. He said to make sure I ate regularly."

**September 2****nd****, 19****97****DMLE, London**** UK**

James walked into the DMLE that morning with no clue as to why he'd been asked to see Amelia Bones, head of the DMLE. Since Jason had gone missing, he thrown himself into his work again and spending time with Thomas. Until someone figured out a way to make the Veil work again, there was nothing he could do but hope that Jason was ok.

It was still strange walking around in the Ministry. The wards had been reestablished but there wasn't a feeling of magic anymore. All the enchantments and random spells that had been cast had left a mark on the building itself but whatever had drained the magic had removed everything. Now the building was just that, a building nothing more.

Shaking his head to clear his somewhat depressing thoughts, James approached the secretary. "James Potter here to see Amelia Bones."

The secretary looked up from her paperwork with a small frown marring her otherwise attractive face. "Please wait a moment; I'll see if she's ready for you." Then the secretary pushed her chair back and stood. She rapped on the door and called out letting Amelia know that her 10am appointment was here.

After receiving the ok, she sent James into the office. James felt a little like he was back in Hogwarts and had just been sent to see the Headmaster. When the secretary closed the door and he noticed that Albus was also in the room, everything suddenly because clear and he relaxed slightly. True there was absolutely no way the man could get his hands on Jason at the moment but that didn't mean that he would stop whatever he was scheming to do.

Amelia stood up from behind her desk. Albus did as well. They both faced James with grave expressions on their faces. "James, Albus has brought me some disturbing news concerning your family."

James had to fight to hide his grin. This had Albus' fingerprints all over it. Even if Jason had been subject to the law, Amelia as Head of the DMLE should never have been involved in such a low level case. "What news is that? As far as I'm aware everyone is well."

"James, Albus has informed me that your son failed to show up at Hogwarts. You know he is required by law to spend his 7th year studying there. I'm afraid I need you to tell me where he is or I will be forced to arrest you."

Now James just looked confused. "I thought I informed you Albus that Thomas was still not in any condition to return to Hogwarts. And even if he did, he needs to finish his 5th year so I'm not sure the law applies to him."

Now it was Albus' turn to look frustrated. "James don't play games. You know we're not talking about Thomas. Where is Harry? He is required to spend his 7th year at Hogwarts regardless of the training he's received."

James sat down on the arm of a chair. "Harry's in the US. He's playing baseball in a pre-college program that he was accepted into." The story was a complete fabrication. James didn't even know if there was such a program but he highly doubted that Albus or Amelia would know either.

"James I'm afraid unless you want to be sent to a holding cell and a warrant issued for Harry's arrest, we'll need to know his location so he can be relocated to Hogwarts." Amelia said trying to avoid any unpleasantness.

"I'm afraid I don't understand. Why would Harry have to report to Hogwarts?"

"James stop playing games. The law is quite clear in the matter. As I just pointed out all British 7th years must be at Hogwarts." Albus was not interested in playing games and his annoyance was coming through quite clearly in his voice and demeanor.

"Well then we don't have any problems. Harry isn't British. His adopted parents are from the US so when they adopted him he was given US citizenship." James almost looked apologetic. Intentionally ignoring Albus, James addressed Amelia directly. "I apologize for any trouble this caused. I just assumed that the records would be checked before anyone wasted their time."

Amelia flushed lightly in embarrassment. "I apologize James. I just assumed that Harry was a British citizen. Albus, there's nothing to be done here. No laws have been broken."

Albus tried to put a good face on things so that they wouldn't realize how frustrated he was. "It is relief; I hoped that there wasn't a mix-up somewhere."

James left the office a few minutes later with a smile on his face.

**September 7****th****, 19****97 ****Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

The team had taken a Puddle Jumper through the gate. Almost as soon as they made it through things went to hell. They'd barely left the gate when a group of 4 Wraith darts opened fire. One of the shots managed to graze the ship doing just enough damage to keep John from cloaking the ship.

John was weaving in between shots when a surge of lightning arced up from the planet. Rodney's voice screamed out a warning and John pushed the jumper as fast as it would go. The Wraiths being a little slower were overcome by the lightning and detonated. Rather than damaging the jumper, the lightning just washed over the ship and dissipated harmlessly.

There were no further attacks from the planet or any signs of Wraith vessels. John made the obvious decision to investigate the planet and determine the source of the attack. A weapon that powerful could be invaluable in defending Atlantis.

Rodney found signs of a settlement so John landed the jumper within walking distance. After getting geared up the team left the jumper and walked into the village. It was not what they expected; the level of technology was fairly primitive, on par with the Athosians. The only people that seemed to have any clue who the Wraith were or what had protected them were the priests.

John and the others were led to a temple that was a fair distance away from the village. There they met with a priestess named Chaya. It was she that spoke with the voice of the god. Like the other priests and villagers, Chaya claimed to have no knowledge of the weapon that was used to defend the planet from the Wraith. However, in a move that took the team by surprise, she expressed an interest in coming back with them to Atlantis to learn more of their ways and culture.

To Rodney's annoyance, Chaya seemed to be particularly fond of John. He was against bringing her back to Atlantis. There was something about her that seemed off to him. Consequently, Rodney just didn't trust her.

The flight back through the Stargate to Atlantis was uneventful. Rodney was making snide remarks while Chaya asked questions about Earth and the different religions on the planet. John was eagerly answering her questions while Teyla and Ford looked on in amusement.

The team was greeted by Elizabeth and quickly directed towards the infirmary to get checked out.

Everyone was cleared quickly but John stayed around to wait for Chaya. Assuming she got the all-clear from Carson, he was going to give her a tour of the city.

Rodney before he left the infirmary noticed something else that added to his apprehensions. Chaya seemed to be very uncomfortable around Jason Sheppard. While he couldn't fault her for that, he didn't understand it either. John had simply introduced Jason as his brother. It was strange at first Chaya simply stared at Jason before reluctantly shaking his head. Afterwards, she almost seemed to avoid him. Something was going on with her, but Rodney wasn't sure just yet what it was.

Rodney, Teyla and Ford were eating a delayed dinner while John was giving Chaya a tour of the city.

"I'm telling you she's hiding something." Argued Rodney for the thousandth time already.

Teyla sighed tiredly. As much as she enjoyed the man's acerbic nature, he could be very tiresome at times. "Why do you hold these suspicions?"

Ford just looked at Rodney over the glass of water he was drinking but didn't say anything.

"Oh come on, you can't tell me that you honestly believed her. How could they not know what was protecting that planet? And she was fair too eager to come back to Atlantis."

Ford put his glass down and leaned back in his chair with a smile on his face. "Are you sure you're not just jealous that she likes Major Sheppard more than you?"

Teyla coughed, covering her mouth with her hand to hide her grin. "I'm sure Dr. McKay would not let his personal feelings affect his judgment." It was an effort for Teyla to say that with a straight face but she did manage it well enough that Rodney took it at face value.

Rodney's chest puffed out at Teyla's supposed compliment. "Thank you Teyla. It's gratifying to know at least one person on this team can view things objectively."

Ford couldn't resist, his cough sounding suspiciously like "Jason."

It would have been impossible for Rodney to miss the not so subtle accusation coming from Ford. "Yes well that's one thing that Chaya has in her favor anyway."

"I do not understand." Teyla had finished her dinner and was now just relaxing back in her chair. Despite the safety of the city there was still some tension that would refuse to go away until she'd fallen asleep for the night. It was always that way after a mission, even if it was a fairly peaceful one.

Rodney was the only one still eating. Per his usual habits, he was scarfing down food only stopping to take a breath or to speak. "Didn't you see how she reacted in the infirmary? She obviously saw the same thing that I do because she was avoiding him like the plague."

Both Teyla and Ford shook their heads amused by Rodney's ongoing animosity towards Jason Sheppard.

Late in the night, Chaya slipped out of John's quarters and began to wander the city that had once been her home. In one of the uninhabited portions of the city she ran into an old friend.

The room she was in filled with a soft glowing white light. Slowly it coalesced into a familiar female figure.

"Delus, it has been so long." Chaya whispered happily. She stepped forward and clasped Delus' outstretched hand in friendship and greeting

"Chaya, I can't believe you're here. Won't the others punish you for leaving your charges?"

"I don't think so. As long as I don't change things or affect the course of events here than they will ignore me." Replied Chaya though inwardly she was still a little nervous. After protecting her people for millennia seeing them destroyed now would be devastating.

"Perhaps you can help me then. Chaya you know of the threat our descendents face. I tried to tell them of Malus but the others have blocked the knowledge from my mind." Chaya said despondently. Her entire countenance showed her despair at the events to come if something was done to help the expedition.

Chaya looked torn. She did know the threat that her friend was talking about. It would affect more than their descendents, it could affect every human in the galaxy and their home galaxy. But she too had been punished and she was afraid of what would happen to her if she violated the rules a second time. "I…I can't. The others will punish me and my people will suffer because of it. I wish I could do something but the risk is too great."

Delus took a step back from Chaya in surprise and not a little bit of anger. Her friend was supposed to help her, she understood the danger the galaxy was facing and she was mired now in her own fear. It was nearly as bad as the others only they chose not to help because they were too arrogant, feeling they were above the conflicts on the physical plane.

"So you would let the rest of the galaxy burn just so you can ensure the safety of one planet?!"

For just a moment, Chaya's eyes blazed with energy similar to what was radiating from Delus. "You know the others won't let me do anything. They will just block the knowledge from my mind as they have done with you and then my world will burn. And what will it have been for? Nothing!"

"But you don't need to do much. Surely you can just point them in the right direction." Delus was almost pleading with her friend.

Chaya watched the anguish play on Delus' features. She felt it herself too. The others were so short-sighted. If they'd done their duty in the first place, the Wraith would never have become a threat. Instead they ascended and left the problem for someone else to deal with and punishing anyone who was actually will to take some responsibility for the actions of their race.

"You know it's not that easy. If they blocked the knowledge from your mind to prevent it from being passed on, they will do the same thing to me should I try? I'm sorry; I can't risk my people when I know the effort will fail. If our descendents are to succeed they will need to do it on their own."

Faced with Chaya's refusal to help, Delus faded away once again. She couldn't help but mourn the loss of her friend's fire. The courage to stand up to the will of the others had been beaten down. Now all that was left was the fear of losing what little she had left.

Chaya felt like she'd betrayed her friend but it wasn't fair of her friend to ask her to risk everything. But she remembered a time when she would've done just that. What had happened to her? When had she changed and become so cowardly? Truly she didn't want to look at herself too closely, she was afraid of what she would find. Instead, Chaya turned and slipped back into John's quarters with no one ever realizing that she had left them in the first place.

The next day Chaya's secret was discovered by Rodney during a meeting with Elizabeth, Chaya, John and the rest of the team. Little clues that showed Chaya to be something other than human finally pointed to one unbelievable conclusion, Chaya was an Ancient. Not surprisingly, there had been a lot of shocked people including John when Chaya admitted that Rodney was correct in his belief.

Even after explaining the reasons why she couldn't help, there were still those that refused to understand her position. With a sad look towards John Chaya stood and asked to be brought back to her planet. However before she could make it to the jumper bay, she staggered when she felt a wave of intense pain. The Wraith were attacking her planet and without her there the people were defenseless.

The need for subterfuge was gone so Chaya shed her physical form and took on the familiar glowing white form on an ascended Ancient. Elizabeth and the others watched as the Stargate activated of its own accord and Chaya left. She was followed a few minutes later by John in a Puddle Jumper.

Like before, Chaya wipes out the attacking Wraith ships forcing the larger vessels to flee.

John lands on the planet knowing that they will probably never see each other again but still wanting to say goodbye. But before John leaves she wraps him in energy allowing the two to share their thoughts and feelings for a moment. It was overwhelming, the feeling of peace and serenity that flowed through him from Chaya, but there was a darker undercurrent. He could sense she was troubled by something, undecided yet he had no idea what it was. Then it was over and he was back in the Puddle Jumper.

It wasn't until he was nearing the Stargate that he realized Chaya had left him with something. On entering the address for Atlantis, another set of coordinates flashed in his memory. Along with the coordinates was a message, well more of a feeling really. John knew that wherever these coordinates would take them, he needed to bring Jason with.


	7. Taking Shape

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

**A/N: ****Sorry for the length, but this was a good spot to end the chapter. Future chapters will be back to the normal size.**

**Chapter ****7**** Taking Shape**

**September ****9****th****, 19****97****Planet PHX-738, Pegasus Galaxy**

The Stargate started to light up and rumble. One by one the chevrons positioned around the Stargate began to glow with a bright blue light. When the last chevron was lit, the wormhole burst into existence billowing out before settling back to form a stable even horizon. For a few moments nothing happened. Then the event horizon rippled and four people stepped through.

John Sheppard was in the lead, his P90 held securely and ready for action. Teyla and Rodney were immediately behind him with Aiden Ford in the rear guarding their backs.

For once it seemed like the MALP, the remote probe, that had been sent through was right. There appeared to be no human activity in the area. The only visible structure was a little over a half mile from the gate. It was a short, squat structure made of some sort of grayish material. The surrounding area consisted primarily of a dense forest. The trees were huge and resembled the ancient trees found in California's Redwood forest. Yet despite the lush surroundings everything was strangely quiet. There were no birds and no indications of any large animals.

"Ford, Teyla scout the area. Rodney and I will investigate the structure." Ordered John at the same time as he began walking forward. Despite his relaxed demeanor, John's eyes were constantly moving, scanning the surrounding area for potential threats.

Rodney was following along jabbering away about the mission and the potential find. Of course, being Rodney he also couldn't resist bringing up the way that John had been given the address in the first place. "You really are Captain Kirk you know that right?"

"Are you still on about that? Rodney what I do with my personal life is frankly none of your business." He was thoroughly sick of the comments from Rodney on the matter and John couldn't figure out the reason behind them. It was like being back in school and competing for the prettiest girl.

"I'm not concerned about what you do with your personal life just who."

"Rodney, I swear to god if you don't drop this now…" The threat hung in the air between them.

Rodney was the first to blink and apologized reluctantly. He tried to explain his reasoning by the fact that John was in charge of Atlantis' security and he could've been compromising it by spending so much personal time with Chaya. But John didn't buy it, there was something else that was bothering Rodney. However with the way the scientist had been acting, John had no interest in finding out what it was as long as the man shut his mouth.

Neither one said anything else for the remainder of the walk.

When they reached the structure they found a door but it refused to open. Rodney theorized that it could be a lack of power or simply the affects of age and the elements.

"It's not very big is it?" John had been able to walk around the entire structure in a matter of minutes while Rodney was still inspecting the entrance. Other than the door, there were no signs of visible entry.

Rodney didn't even look up from the scanner display he was studying. "I'm picking up evidence of a subterranean structure. " More results scrolled up on the scanner display. "This doesn't make any sense."

"What?" If there was an underground complex, then the thing could be a bunker of some kind theorized John.

"I'm picking up low level power readings. It should be enough to power the door but it won't open."

John moved closer to inspect the door for himself. There were long smears of mud and dried leaves spread liberally over the door and the surrounding structure. His love of Star Trek and all things science fiction had John searching the frame for some kind of mechanism to unlock the structure.

"You're wasting your time. There's no sign of any access panel." Said Rodney from his position on the ground.

John ignored him and kept searching, occasionally brushing off dried leaves or caked mud. It took a little while but John eventually found something. Reaching down, he pulled a small canteen from a hip pocket. After unscrewing the cap, John poured the water of the depression in an effort to loosen the dried ground in dirt.

"What are you doing?" Asked Rodney. He was standing now, his curiosity finally overcoming his skepticism.

Ford and Teyla were also approaching. They had finished their search of the area and found nothing. There were no signs of civilization or even any significant animal life. The only creatures that had been found were small rodents, similar to squirrels but their coloring was all wrong and the tails were more whip-like.

"Sir there's nothing in the area. We found no signs of any threats." Reported Ford after moving up to stand next to John.

"Thanks Lieutenant." Replied John absently. He was concentrating on digging out the mud he'd created with the water. After a few minutes effort, he cleared the depression. "It's a handprint."

Rodney just rolled his eyes. "Thank you for stating the obvious Major. Now if you could put your hand onto it perhaps it will open the door."

With some of the mud cleared away Ford noticed numerous blast marks and scorches on the surface. "Looks like there was a fight here at some point sir."

"Wonder who won?" John sasked rhetorically. For a second his eyes cut to Rodney in doubt but then he figured it was just like any other piece of ancient technology and placed his hand on the depression. After a long 5 seconds, nothing happened. "Well that was a whole lotta nothing."

Teyla spoke for the first time since rejoining John and Rodney. "Perhaps it would respond to someone else."

Rodney waved his hand towards the door even as he began running scans once again. John nodded and moved aside so that Ford and Teyla could try as well. As with John, the door didn't respond to either Ford or Teyla. Between the three of them they represented someone with the ATA gene, a native of the Pegasus galaxy and someone who was perfectly normal. John had a sinking suspicion about what it would take to open the door but he wanted to exhaust a few more options before testing his theory.

"It could be power but I can't tell for sure. The only way to be 100 would be to bring a generator and hook it up to the mechanism to try and feed more power into the system."

John looked at the door for a moment before coming to a decision. "Ok everyone back up, I'm going to try and blast it open."

Ford opened his pack and pulled out a small block of C4 and a timer.

Rodney couldn't help but point out that it wasn't the smartest thing to try and blast their way into an alien structure. But when pressed by John to come up with an alternate solution Rodney was silent.

It only took a minute for John to place the charge and move to a safe distance with the rest of his team. "Fire in the hole!" He called out and then pressed the detonator.

Smoke and fire billowed out from the door. When the air cleared the door was still firmly shut. The only difference being a fine layer of soot that seemed to cover a large section of the exposed surface.

"I'm out of ideas. Anyone else?"

"As I said we could try a generator but we will have to go back to Atlantis for that."

"Can't we just have them send a generator through? Why go back?" Asked Ford.

"Not unless you want to risk one of our remaining Naquadah generators. I'll need to rig something up and make sure it has the necessary interface to Ancient technology."

"How do you know this is Ancient technology?"

"The energy readings that I picked up were weak but carried the distinctive power signature that we have found with every Ancient device. It's possible that it is running off of a ZPM but we won't know until we make it inside."

John didn't think the generator would work either, interface to Ancient technology or not. The handprint was a security measure like requiring the ATA gene for operating the more sensitive pieces of Ancient equipment. No, if this was something related to Malus then he was going to need to bring Jason with them next time.

"Ok people lets head back."

On the short journey back to the Stargate, John asked Rodney. "How long do you think it will take you to rig up the generator you were talking about?"

"It shouldn't be more than a day or two." Rodney was already running through possible designs in his mind. It would be his high school science fair all over again when designed an atomic bomb. At least this time he didn't have to worry about the military showing up to question him about potential terrorist activities.

"Ford dial it up."

They watched as Ford dialed up the gate. Once the wormhole was open, Rodney sent their IDC before stepping through the event horizon. He was followed seconds later by Teyla, Ford and lastly John.

**September 9****th****, 19****97****Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

Elizabeth along with John and his team were sitting in the conference room going over the results or more accurately, the lack of results from their most recent mission.

When they had received the IDC for John's team, Elizabeth along with the rest of the control room were expecting an injury of some sort. They'd even gone so far as to ask if a medical team was required. Instead they had simply received a calm reply from John letting them know that all was well.

The post mission report was short and to the point. They'd investigated the perimeter of the structure and the surrounding area. There were no threats but at the same time, none of John's team had been able to open the door.

"I'm telling you it just needs more power. The readings I was getting were so low that there probably isn't enough left for a light bulb to work."

"John what do you think? You've been awfully quiet." It wasn't like John to sit back in a debriefing. From the expression on his face, he had an idea but for some reason appeared reluctant to share it.

John straightened slightly in his chair. His posture now spoke more about command and his rank in Atlantis than the normal relaxed atmosphere he tried to maintain with his team and everyone else for the matter. "Rodney may be right about the power angle but I think ultimately, we're going to need Jason on this one."

Rodney just rolled his eyes. "Oh you've got to be kidding me. What do you expect the boy wonder to do, wave his hand and _magic_ the door open?"

"Rodney!" Admonished Elizabeth and Teyla at the same time. Though Jason certainly didn't need it, both women had developed some protective attitudes towards the newest and most unexpected member of the Atlantis expedition.

"Why do you need Jason?" Asked Elizabeth.

"Think about it. Chaya gave me the information in a way that probably couldn't be picked up by any of the other ascended Ancients. What's the only thing we've encountered so far that seems to require that kind of secrecy? The only thing that I know of is the reason Jason is here. That other Ancient tried to tell us something about Jason too and was stopped. It's the only thing that makes sense."

Needless to say, Rodney was not so easily convinced. Thankfully for John he didn't need to convince Rodney. As commander of his unit, John and Elizabeth would have the ultimate say. All Rodney could do about it was whine and complain two things that he was very good at.

"Are you really comfortable with that?"

"Honestly, I'd prefer not to bring him but we knew that there was a good chance he was going to have to go off-world at some point. At least here, it is as safe as we can hope to find." John said honestly.

Elizabeth was silent as she thought over the situation in her head. Like John she wasn't comfortable sending a 17 year old with no military training on an off world mission. But, if John was right, and given the current information, he presumably was, than Jason would be necessary in order to access the facility.

"Ok but I want you to wait until Rodney is ready with the generator. There's no need to do this more than we need to. And I want a second team to go with you."

"What does the brat need a special baby-sitter now too? How long are you people going to bend over backwards for him anyway!?" Rodney snapped and managed to scowl at the same time.

John flushed angrily and clenched his hands. Teyla could almost hear his teeth grinding together; however, before she could say anything Elizabeth spoke up.

"Ok you will go back in two days. John let me know which team you want accompanying you." Elizabeth rose from her chair and she could see that John was still pissed off. The last thing she needed to deal with was the military commander of the expedition attacking the head scientist. But if it were to happen, she wasn't sure she could really fault John for it either. "Rodney a word please." The tone of voice left little doubt that it was not a request but an order.

John stood and left without a word to the rest of his team. His stride was stiff like he was fighting an urge to hit something or someone.

Rodney was oblivious to it all and followed Elizabeth dutifully to her office.

The door had barely closed before Elizabeth spun around and let him know just how tired of his antics she really was. "Rodney I didn't take this kind of attitude from Cavanaugh and I won't take it from you either!"

Rodney immediately dug his feet in and crossed his arms. The frown on his face while not unusual was more severe than usual and reminiscent of a few moments ago. "I don't know what you're talking about."

After dealing with diplomats for most of her career, an obstinate scientist was no problem for Elizabeth. "I think you know exactly what I'm talking about. What do you think would've happened if I hadn't ended the meeting just now?"

"Nothing; why would anything have happened?"

Elizabeth just studied Rodney for a moment. The man truly didn't realize how close he pushed John to the edge. It wasn't that his comments were any more inflammatory than before, it was more a reflection of John hitting his limit. After deciding that she probably wouldn't get anywhere on this current tack, she tried something different.

"Are you trying to get yourself kicked off of Major Sheppard's team?" Elizabeth asked curiously.

"Of course not. Why would he want to replace me? Who would he replace me with? There's no one that understands Ancient technology on the same level as I do."

Elizabeth wanted to scoff but she managed to restrain herself. The man's arrogance and blindness were astounding at times. She would only reluctantly admit that his boast about Ancient technology was most likely true. "Rodney for someone who claims to be the smartest man in Atlantis, you can be incredibly dense. Major Sheppard was about 5 seconds away from using you for target practice."

Rodney stared at Elizabeth with his jaw hanging open. He didn't find a single ounce of sympathy in her either it almost appeared that she would've been cheering him on.

From Elizabeth's standpoint it was almost like watching someone cut the strings on a marionette. Rodney just sank into the chair and stared ahead morosely. This only lasted a moment though before he became suspicious. "Why, what has Jason been saying about me? Why would either of you listen to him without talking to me first?"

"My god Rodney what is with you? Jason hasn't mentioned you at all, in fact I asked him to avoid you in order to keep the peace but apparently I spoke to the wrong person. Clearly, he is the mature one while you're acting like a spoiled child."

"Elizabeth, you know that's not true." Rodney protested crossing his arms once again which only reinforced his image as a spoiled child.

"Rodney I don't know what your problem with Jason is and frankly at this point I don't care. From now on, you will keep your comments about him to yourself."

"But…"

"No Rodney this isn't just coming from me. I'm warning you now that John won't put up with it anymore. Are you willing to drive your friends away because of some imagined slight?" Elizabeth had her suspicions about Rodney's reaction to Jason but the man was far too stubborn to ever admit them to her or anyone else for that matter. Part of her wondered if he even knew the reason why he was so nasty to Jason.

"You're kidding…" Rodney began but stopped quickly when he saw the expression on Elizabeth's face. "Fine!"

"Rodney I'm not asking you to be his friend, just keep your mouth shut for once."

"I said fine!" Contrary to Elizabeth's suspicions, Rodney knew exactly why he didn't like Jason. Jason was the kind of person he detested while growing up. True he wasn't a genius like Rodney was but he was still smart enough. He was well liked and an athlete all the things that Rodney had always wished for. But by far Jason's worst sin was his abilities. The abilities that flew in the face of everything that Rodney believed to be true about the laws of the universe. "Unless there's something else you wanted to scold me about…"

"You can leave." If it wouldn't have made things worse with Rodney, she would have rolled her eyes at him for his last remark. Instead she watched as he quickly left her office.

**September 10****th****, 19****97****Leaky Cauldron, London UK**

"Ahh Michael, I didn't expect to see you here." Said Albus brightly from his seat in a narrow booth near the rear exit. He'd just thought to get away from the children at Hogwarts and the ineptitude of the Ministry for an afternoon but he always enjoyed catching up with old friends.

Michael Carmichael had been a student at Hogwarts many years ago. Since his graduation, he'd gone on to a successful career with the Unspeakables in the Department of Mysteries. Though the man had never joined the Order of the Phoenix, he'd frequently assisted Albus when he could or provided valuable information in the past.

"Albus, what are you doing here? I didn't think they let you out of the cage so soon after the school year started." Michael laughed at his own joke and moved to sit down across from Albus.

Albus chuckled softly at Michael's friendly ribbing. "Won't you join me? I find a little escape from the halls of Hogwarts to be refreshing and Tom always serves the most delightful lunch."

Michael smiled at his old headmaster and settled down on to the worn wooden bench. Privately he agreed with Albus, he loved his job with the Department but it was still nice to get away for a bit. Every time he did, Michael could almost feel the stress and tension bleed away. "I would love to. It's been far too long since we've had a chance to share a meal."

The two friends chatted about inconsequential things for a few minutes until Tom, the proprietor, made his way to the table and took their orders. About 10 minutes later, Tom came back with their food before he made himself scarce once again.

While they ate, Albus asked "So Michael has there been any headway in understanding what drained the wards and enchantments from the Ministry?" It truly was a mystery. In all his many years Albus had never encountered anything that would cause such an effect.

Michael put down his fork and reached for his glass of water. He took a quick drink before answering. "We have a few possible culprits but the most likely one right now is the Veil."

"The Veil? How could it have been the cause? Surely if it was something would've happened sooner."

Michael shook his head and leaned forward eagerly. For a second he reminded Albus of the gossip queens in Gryffindor.

"Albus you wouldn't believe how much we've learned about the Veil in the last year. Ever since Jason Sheppard began translating the writing carved into the Veil. It isn't a gateway in the realm of the dead at all. It is a gateway to an ancient city somewhere."

"A gateway but how was this not discovered sooner? And who is Jason Sheppard?" It would be wondrous to travel to this city. It must be akin to Avalon, surely only someplace so magical would have a magical gateway if Michael was correct.

"Jason Sheppard? He is James Potter's son. Surely you knew this, aren't you a friend of theirs?" Then before Albus could answer he went on to describe the Veil and the work that Jason had been participating in.

Albus was reeling, not only was Harry currently out of his reach but he'd been living under a different name all this time. James must've known that he would try something and that was why James never told him Harry's new name. "Still, why would activating the Veil cause the damage to Ministry?"

"This is where things get a little more theoretical. Since Jason hasn't returned we haven't been able to interact with the Veil but the prevailing theory is that in order to connect with its destination, the Veil requires a great deal of power. It must pull this power from within a certain radius of itself, in this case the wards and enchantments that were saturating the Ministry building."

"But why would you let Jason go to America if he is required to test these theories?" The wheels were turning in Albus' head. If Jason was the only who could activate the Veil and the Veil was responsible for the havoc at the Ministry than perhaps he could use that to get Jason under his sway. Surely he and James would be thankful for any assistance Albus could provide if Jason were to be charged with the destruction of the Ministry.

"Jason isn't in America, he went through the Veil after it activated. He has yet to return but James seems confident that everything is ok." Supplied Michael.

Far from pleased, Albus was worried that Jason was now dead, having inadvertently killed himself by walking into the Veil. All he could do now was to hope for the best and be ready for the day that Jason returned. A few well placed suggestions to Cornelius would see a warrant issued for Jason's arrest and everything would be in place for Albus to come in and save the day.

"That is fascinating. I can only hope that Jason returns soon. The tales he will have to share I'm sure will be amazing." Albus dabbed at his mouth with his napkin and then stood. "Michael it's truly been a pleasure, hopefully as much time does not pass until we share our next meal."

**September 11****th****, 19****97****Planet PHX-738, Pegasus Galaxy**

Rodney's estimate for John was spot on. In a little over a day and a half, he had a portable generator that should be able to interface with the structure while not putting any of their limited Naquadah generators at risk.

John and his team went through the gate first. The generator was being brought through by the second gate team along with Jason. As they had previously, John ordered Teyla and Ford to check out the area for any threats while he and Rodney moved towards the structure to see if there were any dangers in that direction.

After sending back the all clear, Jason and the second gate team came through. For Jason, it was a much smoother trip than his first one through the Veil. Apparently the Ancients had done more than just make the Stargates more versatile than the arches but they'd also managed to smooth out the ride.

When they emerged from the Stargate, Jason and the others found John waiting for them. Jason was itching to say something to make light of John's protectiveness but it had been made very clear to him that when they were off-world he was to treat John like his boss and not his brother. Thankfully he didn't have to address him as Major Sheppard because that would've just been too weird. Also, it probably would've been odder than calling him John.

"John, where do you want me to go?" Asked Jason. He was standing tall and looking at John with a completely straight face. He was trying to make a good impression on the others. Jason didn't want to be thought of as a useless kid the whole time he was there in Atlantis.

"Harris, you and your team guard the gate. Jason come with me. We'll let Rodney try his generator before giving you a shot." Before they left for the structure, John picked up the generator and began the ½ mile walk to the structure.

Jason was being unusually quiet during the walk. After a couple of minutes, John called him on it. "What's wrong? You're being awfully quiet."

Jason shrugged his shoulders but kept on walking. "It's just weird being on another planet. In Atlantis, I can pretend I'm just in some fantastic city somewhere on Earth. Pretending isn't so easy anymore when you're actually outside walking on another planet."

John nodded in sympathy though he didn't quite follow his thinking about Atlantis. "Maybe this will teach you not to blithely walk through unknown alien gateways then."

"Ha, ha very funny."

The rest of the trek was finished in silence. When they were a couple of hundred yards from the entrance to the structure, John and Jason were met by Rodney who wasted no time in snatching the generator from John's hands and taking it back.

They both walked off to the side to watch with Teyla and Ford while Rodney got to work. It was only a few moments of effort for Rodney to get the generator connected to the door and what he thought was a power junction. "Ok, I'm all set to turn this thing on."

"Go ahead Rodney."

Rodney nodded and flipped a switch on the generator. Immediately a low hum began to resonate from the machine. The dial controlling the power output moved slowly as Rodney gradually increased the flow of power to the door. "It looks like we have a stable connection and power is flowing to the door. Give it a try now Major."

John was pleasantly surprised by the way that Rodney had been behaving. If it hadn't been for Elizabeth, he probably would've showed Rodney just how proficient he was in hand-to-hand combat. Whatever Elizabeth said to him though seemed to have had an effect because there hadn't been a single snide comment about his brother. That's not to say that Rodney didn't throw the occasional dirty look but those John could easily ignore.

Moving to stand next to Rodney, he looked at the door a little nervously. "You're sure this is safe right? I mean I'm not going to get electrocuted or something."

Rodney just rolled his eyes but otherwise remained where he was, kneeling down next to the generator. "Yes major it is perfectly safe. If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't do it in front of so many witnesses."

"What's the worst that can happen Sir?" Asked Ford from his position. The grin on his face only got bigger when he saw John glare at him.

"Thanks for that Lieutenant." There was nothing left for him to do but to try the door again. Almost reluctantly, John moved forward and placed his hand on the depression. He was holding his breath without even realizing it, waiting for the shock that he was sure to come.

Jason let out a sigh of relief when nothing happened. And as soon as he had, he glanced around to see if anyone had noticed. Luckily, if anyone had, they probably assumed he was relieved that John was ok. This was true, but not the reason for his sigh. He knew it was petty but he was happy that Rodney's idea didn't work. If it had, the man would have been insufferable and Jason had no doubts that he would have rubbed it in John's face.

"Ok Jason you give it a try." John ordered as he moved away to make room for Jason.

"Can I try something first?" Asked Jason. When he received a nod from John, he moved his hand slightly and the door glowed a bright blue-green for a couple of seconds before the light faded away. The door was standing there otherwise unchanged; his magic had been unable to unlock the door.

Rodney turned his head to hide what sounded suspiciously like a snicker but Jason chose to ignore it. He was not going to be the one to break the peace between the two of them.

Not wanting to risk damaging the equipment or his glove by mixing magic with Ancient technology, Jason removed it and slipped it into his pocket before placing his hand on the depression. There was a soft tingling feeling that began spreading from his hand and up to his arm. "Umm is my arm supposed to be tingling?"

Even as he asked the question, the sensation faded away and the door slid open.

This time, Jason was near enough to Rodney to hear him clearly when he muttered "Must have taken longer to buffer the power than I thought."

Jason stifled his own snort of laughter at the scientist's refusal to credit him for anything. "The door is open so what do we do now?"

"Now you go home and let the adults get to work."

Jason wanted to grin in triumph. Rodney had broken first and everything Jason did now would only make him like the injured party. So he continued to control his desire to transfigure the man into a little rat. "I was just asking. It's a valid question."

Teyla moved up to stand by them and spoke for the first time since Rodney had hooked up the generator. "Yes it is Jason; Dr. McKay was just making a joke."

With the door open by Jason's hand, John suspected that his little brother was going to be needed if they were to accomplish anything. If the security for the outer door was that tight, then there was no telling what kind of measures would be in place to protect whatever equipment or data was available.

"We go inside. All of us." John said firmly. Then he clicked his radio. "Harris, this is Sheppard. We've got the door open and are proceeding inside."

Inside the doorway was a small chamber that was almost totally barren. The only thing breaking the monotony of the structure was a moderately sized octagonal depression in the center of the floor. The five spent a few minutes searching for anything else in the room but given its size the search was finished quite quickly.

Rodney suspected that the depression was a transporter of some sort. However, it did not react to anyone until Jason stepped onto it. At that point, a low hum built up in the chamber before a white light flashed. When their eyesight cleared, they found themselves in a much larger structure presumably below the entrance.

Rodney looked around eagerly like a kid in a candy store. It was like being back at Atlantis, but to an even greater degree. It was like the Ancients had tried to cram every piece of equipment they could into a confined space. "This is fantastic. If we're lucky the ZPM still has enough power to bring this lab to life."

Jason watched from near a wall as the others spread out inspecting the consoles and machines. Despite the best efforts of John and Rodney, none of the equipment powered up when they touched it. Rodney suggested returning to the surface to retrieve the generator but John asked Jason to try first. After all, it was a reasonable assumption if only Jason could operate the door and transporter, than the equipment in the lab itself would have the same security measures.

Jason calmly walked up to the nearest console and pressed one of the controls. With a soft flash of light, the console came active and data began to scroll up on the screen just above it.

"Ok I admit. I'm a little jealous now." Rodney was frowning at the admission but he left it out there none the less. "See if you can get the other consoles active."

Everyone else stared at Rodney for a moment. It was the first time any of them could remember Rodney being somewhat polite to Jason.

"John is that ok?"

"Go ahead." Said John after a little thought. This was the reason they had come here after all.

"Dr. McKay is there someplace in particular you would like me to start?" There was quite a lot of equipment and it would take some time to turn them all on. Jason noticed that John smiled softly at him, thanking him for being polite.

"Give me a minute." Rodney looked away from the console he was working on. At first blush, it appeared to be a secondary control for whatever work they were doing here. Most of the information appeared to be detailing the status of the equipment and the ZPM. "Oh my god, if I'm reading this right the ZPM is virtually full."

"Well, leave it alone until we know exactly what this place is used for. We don't want to destroy something by accident."

"I'm not stupid thank you." Rodney snapped. Then he turned to scan the room again before moving to another console. This one was larger and nearer to the center of the rear wall. "Try this one. If the layout of this place follows the same pattern as the labs back in Atlantis it should be one of the primary consoles."

Jason just shrugged and moved to stand next to Rodney. Just as before the console activated as soon as Jason pressed one of the keys. This time the information that was displayed appeared to be more of a log or journal rather than a system readout.

Teyla, who like Jason and Rodney could read Ancient moved over to review the information with them. "It seems to be a diary by an Ancient scientist. Perhaps it is this Malus we've been searching for. I suggest that we take a copy with us back to Atlantis, there are most likely too many entries to read here."

Rodney complied after some grumbling about limited hard drive space and wasting it on someone's diary. None the less, he went along with the suggestion and began connecting his portable computer to the Ancient console. As Rodney continued to work Jason activated the rest of the equipment so that he and Teyla could at least get an idea of what the other equipment did and help save Rodney some time.

After a couple hours of sitting around and watching Rodney putz around with his new toys, John was ready to leave. "Rodney have you downloaded everything? Is there any reason to stay here longer?"

Rodney looked up from where he was sitting, startled by the question. He was about to tell the Major off for being impatient when he noticed that close to two hours had gone by already. "Uh, yeah, yes I've got everything. Most of the equipment seems like it was designed for testing something. I'm not sure what just yet."

"What about the ZPM?"

"Until we know more about what this place was for I think we should leave it. We know where one is now in case the Wraith threaten Atlantis."

John would've felt more comfortable actually having the ZPM back at Atlantis with them but he couldn't really fault Rodney's thinking. Especially since it had mirrored his own from earlier. "Ok, let's head home. We can come back when we've figured out what this place was used for exactly."

It took a little time to pack up their gear and return to the entrance. As soon as they left, the door closed and locked once again. None of them noticed the small device at the base of the door that was now flashing softly.

**September 11****th****, 19****97****Elsewhere in the Pegasus Galaxy**

"Shezz'la we are receiving a signal from one of the lab worlds."

There was no response. Shezz'la continued feeding on one of the newly acquired herd of humans. The taste was much more satisfying than those that had been in storage when he came out of hibernation. "You were saying?" The husk collapsed to the floor as Shezz'la ripped away the last of its life force.

"Yes the beacon on lab world three has been activated."

Eyes filled with the fires of hatred gazed at the Wraith before him. "Dispatch two cruisers to each of the lab worlds. I want to know immediately if anyone arrives. Make sure they understand that they are to capture anyone coming through the Stargate and hold them for questioning by me."

The Wraith had been kneeling with his head bowed but now he looked up in surprise. "That will only leave a single cruiser as an escort for the hive ship."

"I'm aware of the risks and I don't take well to you questioning my orders." Shezz'la leaned forward and raised his hand in a warning gesture. If necessary, a Wraith could feed from another Wraith. It was frowned upon, but he would let no one question his orders.

The Wraith did not miss the not-so-subtle threat. "I apologize. I meant no disrespect."

Satisfied with his underling's apology Shezz'la leaned back in his chair. "The Lanteans are on the move again after all the millennia. We must not allow them to complete their weapon."

"Why not destroy the structures?"

"Don't be a fool, the structures have proved to be resistant to our weapons and any attack strong enough to breach the defenses would most likely destroy anything of value. No, I want the Lanteans captured so that I can rip the secrets of their weapon from their minds. With it at our disposal, all the other hive ships will have no choice but to bow to my authority."


	8. Unsettling Knowledge

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

**A/N: ****Spoiler****s for Eps 1.16 ****the**** Brotherhood and ****1.17 Letters from Pegasus**

**A/N 2: I try and explain a little of Lily's behavior in this chapter. I'm not expecting any of the characters to forgive her in the short term but I'd like to know what people think of my explanation. **

**Chapter ****8 ****Unsettling Knowledge**

**September ****25****th****, 19****97****Atlantis****, Pegasus Galaxy**

It had been two weeks since they'd found the lab. In that time, there had been no further trips back to that world. Elizabeth felt it would be safer to do as much background research ahead of time. In discussing the matter with John, they both agreed that the more trips made to the planet, the greater the chance that some passing Wraith ship could detect their presence. If the lab really did hold the secrets of an Ancient weapon designed to target the Wraith, then it must be kept safe at all costs.

While there had been no missions back to the planet, that didn't mean that Jason and John's team weren't busy. Given the sensitive nature of the work, Elizabeth had restricted access to the data already retrieved to Jason and John's team. Rodney had practically sequestered himself in his lab, pouring over the information that he'd retrieved determined to figure everything out before Jason could finish translating the logs.

Jason was splitting his time between the infirmary and translating the logs that Rodney had reluctantly downloaded. As much as he was loathe to admit it Rodney had been at least partially correct, the logs were as much a diary as they were logs of the experiments that had been conducted by Malus and his team. So far, what he'd been able to translate was painting a disturbing picture of the events near the end of the war. And if he was translating this correctly, he now knew why he was here.

There had been some tantalizing hints regarding the nature of the research. Unfortunately, it seemed like the author, who Jason presumed to be Malus, was intentionally trying to remain vague.

_Log Entry 134:_

_Our research is progressing slowly. We have ha__d__ some success but we are nowhere near completion. The effect remains untargeted. There have been difficulties in restricting the effects to the Wraith. If we were to deploy the weapon now, anyone within the effective radius would be __affected__ whether they were Wraith, human or even Ancient.__ Without significant headway I fear that the council may attempt to deploy the weapon regardless of any collateral damage__ that would result_

_Since we first achieved tangible results even if they are uncontrolled, the council has been growing increasingly concerned about security. __Despite the initial reluctance __by__ the council to support my project, the majority had grown very interested in the success of the project as the wa__r continued to turn against __us_

_In order to silence some of the more vocal members of the council, I have agreed to implement the additional security measures that have been requested even though they will disrupt our research and slow our progress._

_Our work will continue normally for the next two weeks while the council implements the additional security that I've agreed to. __Two more labs __are__ being constructed on worlds with no indigenous populations. Once the labs __ar__e completed, we w__ill__ be splitting our work between the three labs. __After __our initial research is complete, we will work on the weaponization and materials' studies necessary to construct a viable prototype. The last world__ will be used for the actual construction of the prototype and final testing._

_I understand their concerns but this is going to set us back by weeks if not months._

After finishing the log entry, Jason growled in frustration. Why were the logs so vague? If the logs were supposed to describe the experiments than it seemed strange that Malus would not be forthcoming. The only reason Jason could come up with was security. But who was he hiding the information from? Was Malus trying to keep the details from falling into another Ancient's hands or was there some other risk he wasn't aware of?

The whole situation was made even stranger by the fact that the addresses of all three worlds were in the journal entry. Perhaps it was how the Ancients designated planets. Or maybe the locations of the planets were known to the entire council and therefore there was no reason to try and keep the location secret.

Jason stood and left his quarters to go to the cafeteria for something to eat. He'd been at it for close to three hours and he needed a break. It wasn't just that he was hungry though but he needed to get away from some of his frustration as well. At least he'd found something worthwhile even if it wasn't exactly what he was looking for. When he got to the cafeteria, Jason was surprised to see Elizabeth sitting alone at a table eating.

"Do you mind if I sit down?" Jason asked politely after getting some blue Jell-O and a cup of coffee.

Elizabeth looked up from the report she was going over. "No, please sit." She waited until Jason had settled and had taken a sip of his coffee. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Jason glanced around to make sure no one was sitting close enough to overhear their conversation. "I have found something that I think you will find interesting." He knew Elizabeth wanted to keep information to a small group so even though there was no one nearby Jason deliberately kept his comment vague.

"I can't wait to hear about it. Perhaps we should discuss it in my office once you are done."

"Is there any word from John or his team?"

A little over a 10 days ago, they'd found an alternate version of Elizabeth, one who'd travel back in time to when the Ancients still inhabited the city. Apparently, the safeguards that allowed the city to rise to the surface when the shield was failing did not exist the first time around and in their efforts to escape; she had inadvertently taken an experimental jumper back in time. Through her intervention, the city was saved the second time around but she had another gift for the Atlantis expedition.

Before she'd died, Elizabeth's double had provided a list of five gate addresses. Each address was the location of a ZPM that could be brought back to Atlantis. John and his team were investigating one of the addresses currently.

"Nothing since their last check-in, they are still working with the Brotherhood to try and find the location of the ZPM."

The Brotherhood was an organization that had been formed before the Ancients left to return back to Earth. According to legend, the Brotherhood had been given a relic of great importance to the Ancients in order to safeguard it until their return. The Brotherhood had honored their mission for years until a vicious culling by the Wraith had wiped them out. Now the relic, which Rodney assumed to be a ZPM, was lost with only an old map and legends to lead them to its location.

Jason had laughed when he heard that John was going to be stuck babysitting Rodney while the man played archeologist. He knew that it would drive John nuts. John needed to be in the thick of things, not stuck watching as people dug around for ancient artifacts even if they were ZPMs.

"I'm surprised John hasn't asked to have another team come in. He hates doing this kind of thing."

For the first time since he'd met her, Jason saw Elizabeth laugh. It wasn't a nervous giggle or a chuckle; it was the relaxed laugh of someone enjoying the discomfort of a friend. "Oh he's tried. I just haven't authorized the switch. It's not often that I get a chance like this, I couldn't pass it up."

Jason grinned and nodded in understanding. He loved his big brother, but it was nice to be able to get one over on him occasionally too. He glanced down when he felt the spoon hit plastic. Apparently, he'd finished his Jell-O without realizing it. "Well should we go?"

Elizabeth gathered the remains of her meal back onto her tray and stood up. She straightened her uniform jacket before grabbing the tray and dropping it off at the bussing station. Jason followed her after dropping his own tray off.

They continued to chat about minor things on the walk to Elizabeth's office. Jason talked about his work in the infirmary and how much he enjoyed working with Carson. It had taken him by surprise just how much he liked his work in the infirmary. The only downside was that given the present situation his chances of going to college or med school were pretty low. Even if they made it back to Earth he seriously doubted he would be able to just go back to a normal quiet life. He wasn't sure he even wanted to.

Once they were safely back in Elizabeth's office and seated comfortably, the real conversation began. "What have you found?"

Elizabeth watched as Jason slumped a little tiredly in his chair. "The translation has been simple enough so far but the problem is everything related to the project itself is rather cryptic. I'm assuming that the author was Malus and he apparently didn't trust his fellow Ancients that or there is some other concern that I haven't read about yet."

No one had expected it to be easy. Anything that was built to withstand strong weapons fire and required an extremely rare genetic marker had to contain sensitive material. "Is there anything to give us a clue about what exactly this project was?"

"It is definitely some kind of weapon. The entries that I've translated are deliberately vague about what exactly the weapon does but it is definitely something that was going to be ultimately targeted against the Wraith."

"How do you know?"

"He keeps talking about the current effects not being targeted. It seems that whatever they were working on is going to be pretty strong. There is something else though." Jason reached into his pocket and withdrew a small piece of paper and handed it to Elizabeth.

"Gate addresses?" She asked after examining the slip of paper.

"Yes at some point during the project the Ancient council grew concerned about security. In order to prevent the weapon from falling into Wraith hands, the project was split into three pieces. Initial research was conducted on one world, the physical materials were developed on a second world and finally it was constructed and tested on a third world. I'm not sure yet which one we found but those are the addresses of the other two worlds. The entry simply listed the three addresses it didn't say which was which."

Elizabeth considered what they had learned so far. It wasn't much. Now she had a new decision to make, should she authorize a mission to one of these two addresses or should she wait until they knew more? No, she couldn't authorize the mission just yet. "Thank you Jason, please keep working on the logs. We need all the information we can get if we are going to succeed."

Jason stood and left the room. "I should get back to work then."

Elizabeth watched Jason leave and then returned her gaze back to the slip of paper in her hand.

**September 26****th****, 19****97****London UK**

James trudged out of the Ministry tiredly. His footsteps were slow and ponderous. It had been a long day and there was still more to be done. It had been a couple of days since he'd last seen Thomas. Things were still tense between them, the years of separation couldn't be overcome in a matter of months but James was happy that he seemed to be building a level of trust with his estranged son.

It had been a hard time for Thomas as well. Not only had he lost his mother, but he was still learning to walk once again and rebuilding his strength after the months he spent in a coma. The work was hard and there was no help to be offered but moral support which James provided as much as he could.

They'd had a few discussions about why James left Thomas in his mother's care. Though he'd thought about lying to Thomas about the reasons, to soften the blow, James realized that with Thomas' reputation in the wizarding world ruined he needed to hear it. So he told him about the arrogant, selfish, lazy boy who expected everything to be handed to him on a silver platter. Since he was being so honest with Thomas he also apologized for his own role. James admitted that he could have fought harder for Thomas' sake but in the end he took the easy way out.

Thomas had not reacted well to either James' description or his apology. His father patiently explained to him that the wizarding world knew his brother was the real boy-who-lived. It would be necessary for Thomas to get over his attitude problems if he was going to fit into their world again. In the end, Thomas sulked; bemoaning his current situation and James left him to his thoughts.

That conversation had been close to month ago. Thomas was trying to change and to accept his father but it was hard. If he wasn't the boy-who-lived than why had they treated him like that? Maybe he'd have had real friends if he had a normal childhood. It was hard not to put all the blame on his parents but he understood that at least a portion was his own. Looking back, Thomas could see that he was a jerk and used his position to get whatever he wanted. If his dad was telling the truth, he wouldn't be able to do that anymore.

Something that had taken him by surprise was that slowly Thomas was beginning to look forward to his dad's visits.

James was nearing the apparition point in Diagon Alley when he heard a voice calling his name.

"James! James please wait!"

Curious, he stopped and turned around looking for the source of the voice. The source he found shocked him, not so much by its presence but its appearance.

Lily Evans had undergone some radical changes from the last time he saw her. Her hair was now cut in simple style, leaving it shoulder length but no longer requiring expensive maintenance. She wore very little makeup and what she did wear did not cover up her tired and somewhat worn appearance. Lastly, her clothes, something she'd always taken great pride in, were frayed and James could see areas where she'd mended rips or removed stains. Yes, it was clear that Lily Evans had fallen on hard times.

James groaned. Lily was the last person he wanted to deal with after a long day. Mentally, he prepared himself for a fight while trying to put on a pleasant face. "Lily, what can I do for you?"

"James…" She faltered but seemed to gather her strength after a moment of indecision. "I…ummm…"

"Lily, I don't have all night. What did you want? If it's more money than you can forget it, I give you enough in alimony." James was quickly losing his patience and the pleasant façade was falling away.

"No I don't want your money. James I wanted to apologize. I've made a mess of things and I…" She trailed off and took a deep breath before continuing.

James noticed that her hands were clenched together as if she was afraid of what he might do.

"I became so wrapped up in the prophecy and the attention that it brought. All I cared about was keeping that attention, it didn't matter who got hurt in the process as long as I was still getting the attention." She finished sadly.

James stayed where he was. It was obvious that she was sad and depressed but he had no intention of comforting her. He wasn't even sure if he fully believed her. "What brought on this sudden realization?"

"I've been seeing a mind-healer at St. Mungo's for several months now."

A privacy bubble formed around them after James absently cast the spell. The last thing Thomas needed was for the Daily Prophet or one of the other rags accusing Lily and by extension her son of being insane.

"Ok but I still don't know what you're looking for from me?"

Tears started to well up in Lily's dull green eyes and her lower lip quivered slightly. She'd been shocked to learn that she and Thomas had been something of a curiosity in St. Mungo's. Her behavior had been a subject of much debate so that when she came in for help, the healers already had many theories for her behavior.

"James please this is hard enough for me to get through." Her entire body thrummed with the need to explain herself and the reason for her deplorable behavior. "The mind healers say I have something called Munchhausen by Proxy syndrome although mine is a somewhat unusual case."

James laughed bitterly at her comment. There wasn't anything about his family that wasn't unusual. But he'd never heard of her illness before and he asked her what it was.

She gave him a brief explanation. It usually happens with mothers. In most cases, they will deliberately make their children sick in order to garner attention and sympathy from friends and doctors. In her case, she did everything she could to promote Thomas as the Boy-Who-Lived, increasing the spotlight on him and therefore her role as his mother. In many cases, the child ended up dying because of the mother's actions and she felt that she was fortunate that Thomas had survived.

Unfortunately, there was no magical or muggle cure for any mental illnesses. So she was taking a potion designed to stabilize her brain chemistry and would probably be in therapy for a long time to come.

It was a struggle for James. There were two sides fighting within him. One side wanted to feel bad for Lily. He'd loved her at one point and it hurt to see how far she'd fallen, especially if she was sick. The other side of him, the parental side of him, could not forgive her for causing so much harm to Thomas and her callous disregard for Harry.

For now, the parental side of him was in control. "I'm sorry Lily. I wish things could've been different."

"I do too James. I know I don't deserve it but if he's willing I'd like to see our son again. I have a lot to make up for."

"Which one?" Because is James' mind at least, Lily owed both their sons an apology.

This time the tears didn't just well up in Lily's eyes. They began to trickle down her cheeks. She sniffed softly and tried to compose herself.

It was not the reaction James had been expecting. Her sadness and self-loathing was almost palpable. Perhaps, she really was trying to change.

"Thomas." She said quickly. The look that James gave her now was filled with disgust and forced her to explain further. "After my letters to Harry, I'm afraid I've burned my bridges with him. I don't know why he would ever give me a chance at this point."

Again, James was taken aback by Lily's answer. There was none of the disdain that she had previously held for her younger son. Rather than try and blame Harry for anything, she seemed to understand that it was her own fault. But even with this new self-awareness she was demonstrating, James was very leery of letting her see Thomas.

"I don't know Lily, but since Thomas is 17 and technically an adult I will let him decide." James answered finally.

"Thank you James. I know I can never undo for the harm I've caused but I do love him."

After promising to let her know Thomas' decision, James cancelled his spell and resumed his walk to the apparition point. From there, it didn't take him long to reach the hospital where he found Thomas sitting up in his bed reading a book.

Recaps of the day were exchanged and James was happy to hear that Thomas had managed to walk down to the hospital cafeteria with almost no aid. So it was with a little bit of fear that he brought up the topic of Lily. There was some discussion about Lily's illness and what it meant for Thomas.

"Do you think one of the doctors here might know something about it?" Thomas asked timidly. "I think I'd like to see her again but …" Here he trailed off.

Thomas watched with relief as his father nodded in understanding. "I'll speak with your doctor about it before I leave."

"I think it would be easier, you know, if she was sick." Explained Thomas. It would make it easier for him to accept what had happened if he knew his mother was sick and that she hadn't intentionally been willing to sacrifice him like that for her own gain.

Suddenly, out of nowhere Thomas asked about something else that had been on his mind for a while now. "What about Harry? If I didn't beat Voldemort that night, doesn't that mean that Harry did? What happened to him?"

It seemed that it was turning out to be a night of surprises for James. He'd never expected Thomas to ask about his twin. Almost reluctantly James told him about Harry and the kind of life he'd had. About the only thing he didn't tell Thomas was the role Harry had played in Voldemort's defeat. As far as the wizarding world was concerned, the Department of Mysteries and the Unspeakables were responsible for the second defeat of Voldemort.

"How come he's never visited me? Doesn't he care?" It was true that Thomas was less self-centered than before, but it was still there waiting to peak out every so often.

"Honestly, he came with me all the time while you were still in a coma. Once you were awake I thought it might be easier on you if Jason gave you some time to adjust. And now he's in the US for school so he can't come and visit you." The lie rolled off his tongue easily, just like it had with Dumbledore. He certainly wasn't going to tell Thomas that he was a substitute for Jason, someone that helped to keep James from worrying too much about Jason's safety and well-being.

It wasn't much later that Thomas announced he was tired. Taking the hint, James said goodnight only just remembering to speak with Thomas' doctors before he left.

**September 27****th****, 19****97****Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

John and his team had yet to finish up their work with the Brotherhood. As much as Elizabeth wanted to wait until his team had returned, the Wraith had forced her hand. Hours ago, a lone Wraith dart had somehow managed to make it to Atlantis and had succeeded in scanning the city before self destructing.

They couldn't wait any longer. The Wraith had found them and were on their way. Even now Captain Harris was preparing his team to head out to one of the two addresses that Jason had provided her. It was unlikely that the Ancients had a left a working prototype in any of the labs but perhaps they would find the equipment necessary to rebuild it.

Jason meanwhile had continued to work on translating the log. There had still been very little on the capabilities of the weapon itself but based on the tone of the log entries, the team had been successful in targeting the effects of the weapon to the Wraith alone.

In the latest log entry, it appeared that the Ancient council had been right to be paranoid about security.

_Log Entry 167:_

_We have received word that the Wraith are stepping up attacks on our worlds. Even the outposts are finding it harder to keep the space around their planets clear of Wraith ships. __More and more the council is pressing us to increase the pace of our research. They are becoming desperate for a weapon that will swing the tides of war back in our favor._

_Any doubts I might've had about the necessity of additional security measures was confirmed this past week. __We were in transit to the final world so that we could begin constructing the prototype. __Per council instructions, the team had been broken up into 3 different transports to reduce the risk associated with a Wraith attack. Though I laughed initially at the precaution, I'm no__w__ thankful that I did not protest._

_During the trip, our convoy was attacked by a small flotilla of Wraith cruisers and Hive ships. __Our escorts fought back immediately but our forces were overwhelmed in the attack. One of our transports was captured by a Wraith cruiser before it could __jum__p__ into hyperspace. __The remaining ships __luckily __escaped into hyperspace. Before we left, one of the remaining escort ships damaged the cruiser in question, altering its power signature enough for it to be tracked._

_By the time we arrived at our destination, we'd received word from Atlantis. Officially, a rescue mission was underway. Unofficially, the two members of my team that had been captured were presumed dead. I was able to read between the lines with that announcement. The rescue team had orders to kill my scientists if they were unable to affect a rescue. Their knowledge of the weapon was simply too dangerous to fall into Wraith hands._

Jason was very subdued when he finished reading the latest journal entry. Everything was beginning to come crashing down on him. He'd lived with the memories of the Ancient's war against the Wraith for so long, he'd become numb to the story they were telling but now it was all coming to life.

Just today, a Wraith fighter had destroyed a Puddle Jumper over the city. Two men had been killed. It wasn't official, but he'd heard people talking about the long range sensors. Apparently, they'd picked up three Wraith Hive ships heading for Atlantis.

If people knew his history, they might think he should be used to this kind of shit. But when you really looked, you'd realize that every time Jason had been in a life or death situation, it was a onetime event that came suddenly. This was entirely different.

It seemed so endless at times. Everything they were working on was related to defeating the Wraith, a race that had forced the Ancients to abandon this galaxy. Against an enemy like that what could he do? Yes he knew that he'd been brought here for a reason but that just made it worse. He felt like the survival of the city was resting on his shoulders.

Nighttime was the worst. All alone in his room, Jason felt isolated, cutoff from everything he knew. The adventure didn't seem so grand anymore. Twice now he'd woken in the middle of the night curled into a ball, shaking and covered in sweat from a nightmare that his conscious mind was quick to block out. He was sure people would notice how little sleep was getting so he'd taken to using his magic to alter his appearance just enough so that he wouldn't raise any suspicions.

What he really needed was someone to talk to. The problem being there was only one person in Atlantis that Jason trusted enough and was comfortable enough with to talk to about this. Unfortunately, John had been on this mission for close to a week now but even before that Jason had been more concerned about staying away from Rodney and by extension John so now he was starting to feel disconnected from his brother too.

**September 27****th****, 19****97****P9X-H7F, Pegasus Galaxy**

Captain Harris led his team through the gate. It was supposed to be a standard recon mission. They were to search for a structure similar to the one found by Major Sheppard and his team on the other planet. If the structure was found Harris and his team would do a standard recon to determine if there were any threats. All in all, it seemed like a nice easy mission.

That opinion had lasted all of ten minutes once they arrived on the planet. The structure had been visible from the gate. The portion above ground seemed to be larger than on the previous planet so Thomson was able to spot it easily with binoculars.

Like John, Harris split his team in half. He sent Thomson and Michaels to check out the structure while he and Roberts would scout the area.

The team had barely been on the world for ten minutes when all hell broke loose. The familiar whine of a Wraith Dart fighter's engine was heard just seconds before a squadron soared into view.

Harris clicked on his radio. "Thomson, Michaels get to the gate. We're getting out of here."

"Roger sir. We're a half mile out and on our way."

Harris and Roberts emerged from the trees and started firing their P90s at the Wraith darts. Before they could fire for more than a handful of seconds both men were forced to jump out of the way of incoming weapons fire. Small explosions rocked the ground around the Stargate. Fire and smoke billowed up before dispersing in the wake of another passing fighter.

"Roberts, dial it up."

Roberts crawled over to the DHD and quickly dialed in the coordinates for Atlantis. Once the wormhole was open he sent his IDC so that they would lower the force field on the other side. "I've sent the signal."

"Go! I'll cover Thomson and Michaels." Harris ordered and began firing his P90 at another Wraith dart. His weapon seemed to be causing no meaningful damage but he kept at it anyway.

Roberts paused for a second. It was obvious he wanted to stay, but he'd been given a direct order so he leapt through the gate.

Thomson and Michaels were almost at the gate. They were stopping periodically to fire at one of the fighters but like Harris, their weapons had little effect. Just as they were turning to run the last short distance to the gate another Wraith fighter screamed overhead and scooped them up with a culling beam.

Harris screamed at the fighter and emptied his clip before jumping through the gate himself. It wasn't too late to save them. The fighters hadn't come through the gate, so there must be a ship nearby that had detected their presence. Even as he jumped into the gate, Harris was making a promise to find and bring his two men back. He wouldn't leave his men in the hands of the enemy.

Back in Atlantis a short while later, Captain Harris was arguing loudly with Elizabeth. He wanted to take a jumper back through the gate and attempt to rescue his men but Elizabeth was refusing outright.

"I will not authorize a mission that puts more men at risk with little to no chance of success." Elizabeth was standing perfectly straight with her arms at her sides and her fists clenched. It was a sure sign that she was angry. Standing as she was, Elizabeth was only a few inches shorter than Captain Harris. It made it easier for her to maintain her authority with some of the military.

"We don't leave our people behind. If Major Sheppard were here he'd already have a jumper preparing for launch!" Harris was leaning in towards Elizabeth aggressively. His face was red and he was panting.

In a loud tightly controlled voice, Elizabeth said "If Major Sheppard was here then I would authorize the mission but Major Sheppard is not here."

"So what? Without Major Sheppard the rest of us are incapable of facing the Wraith?"

"Captain in case you weren't aware we just lost a jumper and two men earlier today to the Wraith because Major Sheppard is the only one with the skills necessary to fly a jumper against them."

"But…"

Elizabeth shifted her attention to Dr. Zelenka and asked what seemed to be a non-related question. "Dr. Zelenka, can you use the long range sensors to scan the space around planet P9X-H7F?"

"Yes it will just take a moment to reset the coordinates."

Elizabeth wanted to smile. Nothing ever seemed to shake the man. Even in the face Rodney's often times overwhelming arrogance and short temper, he remained calm.

"Captain my decision is not a reflection on your abilities or because I don't value your men. I can't throw your lives away with little to no chance of success." She tried to reason with him. Even if he gave in, the man would be speaking to John as soon as his team returned.

"Dr. Weir, we have the results of the scan. There is nothing there. If there were Wraith ships above the planet, they are gone now."

"I'm sorry Captain." Said Elizabeth sincerely.

Harris didn't respond, he just turned on his heel and stalked out of the control room. His remaining men close behind him.

A few hours later, the gate roared to life and John and his team stepped through. Rather than send them to the infirmary, Elizabeth called them up to the control room for an immediate debriefing.

"I can't help but notice that you are not carrying a ZPM."

Rodney blushed and mumbled something. It was indirectly his fault. He'd told the natives that they weren't from Atlantis rather that they'd just found the city less than a year ago. Unfortunately, once the ZPM was found, the new Brotherhood decided to take the ZPM from them and hide it off world until the Ancients returned for it. No amount of arguing from Rodney or John could convince them to do otherwise.

"No, we ran into a little snag. Anyway, we still have 4 other addresses that we can check out." Said John. He was a little curious as to why Elizabeth was breaking protocol by speaking with them now.

"I wish that were true, but we had some excitement while you were gone. I'm sorry John; we lost two men earlier today and two more were captured by the Wraith." Elizabeth explained what happened when they detected the Wraith dart and then the subsequent mission to one of the worlds mentioned from Jason's research.

"Why am I just hearing about this now?" John was getting angry. It was also tinged with a bit of guilt. "And why didn't you authorize a rescue mission?"

"First you were out of radio contact for the last 12 hours so don't complain about not being in the loop. And two, in case you weren't paying attention, we'd just lost a jumper to the Wraith because you're our only trained pilot. Yes the men can fly the jumpers but as we learned today that is a far cry from being able to take them into combat. So I apologize for not being willing to sacrifice more men on a suicide mission." Elizabeth's anger finally boiled over. John should know her well enough by now to know that she would've sent the men in with no question if there was a chance of success but in this case there wasn't and she simply refused to throw more lives away.

"I apologize Dr. Weir." Began Teyla. "It has been a difficult time for us as well." Teyla described the events on the planet, their encounter with the Genii and finally the retrieval and loss of the ZPM.

"Well, I'm back now, so just give me a few minutes and I'll assemble a team." Said John . He was tired, but there was no chance in hell that he would leave any of his men in the hands of the Wraith.

"I'm sorry John but they're already gone. I've had Dr. Zelenka periodically scan the planet with the long range sensors. There has been no sign of the Wraith ships."

"Yeah well you're not the one that has to write the letters to their families!" John didn't say anything else. He just left the control room. If he stayed there much longer than he might say something he would regret later on. The situation just sucked. Elizabeth was right, but that didn't mean he was ready to acknowledge that because it pointed out a way that he had failed.

Elizabeth was stunned. John knew she felt every loss regardless of whether they were civilian or military.

The remaining team members were unsure of what to do or how to act after John's accusation. So after politely excusing themselves they left to go for their post mission checkups with Carson.

John was stalking quickly through the halls of Atlantis. It had never occurred to John to try and train any of the men for combat flying. At the time, it seemed more important to just get them able to fly the jumpers and if he was being honest, he'd assumed that the Ancient technology would have given them more of an advantage. Now he'd been rudely disabused of that particular assumption and two of his men were dead because of it.

"Damn it!" John yelled and slammed his fist into the cold metallic wall. A loud thump was quickly followed by an equally loud "Fuck!" Now John was pissed and sporting a very sore hand. His fingers seemed to move ok without too much pain he noticed so luckily he hadn't broken anything. He never would've lived that one down. Even if the others didn't say anything there was no way that Jason would've left it alone.

Still angry, John made his way to rooms that had been setup as a makeshift gym. There weren't too many people in the gym at this time of day but John wasn't too surprised to find Harris there. The man wouldn't have been happy with Elizabeth's decision and this was one of the only outlets for that kind of frustration which also the reason he was there.

"Major can I speak with you?" Harris asked almost immediately after noticing John enter the room.

"Of course Captain."

What followed was a brief discussion where John backed Elizabeth's decision as leader of the expedition. "Captain I understand your feelings, we don't leave our people behind. In this case though, Dr. Weir was right, if the Wraith came in a cruiser or Hive ship than you would've been shot down or captured. I promise you though we will find your men and bring him home."

Harris just nodded; he was clearly still unhappy and turned back to the punching bag that was taking the brunt of his anger and frustration. The logical part of his brain told him that Major Sheppard and Dr. Weir were right but it didn't change the fact that those men were his responsibility.

Meanwhile back in his quarters Jason was oblivious to all the happenings with John and Elizabeth. With nothing else to do after his shift in the infirmary, Jason had gone back to translating the log entries. It was obvious that something was going on. He didn't know if the rumors about the Wraith heading towards Atlantis were true or not but it was just a matter of time anyway so he wanted to try and learn as much as he could.

_Log 174:_

_There is certainly no work being done today. My team is too busy celebrating. Just this morning we received two surprise visitors. Somehow, the rescue force sent after my missing scientists were able to succeed in their mission._

_Now they were back and everyone was celebrating. Like everyone else, I'm thrilled that they are back among us. Whatever higher powers are out there had obviously been looking after my two friends because the Wraith hadn't even had a chance to do more than a basic interrogation. There hadn't been enough time for them to be broken. As guilty as it makes me feel, I'm happier about that then their return because it means that the project is still safe._

_I tried to celebrate with the others but I couldn't do it. I tried to ignore the report that came back with my two friends but it was impossible. __If the information was accurate than the Wraith threat was greater than __we__ realized._

_With this new information at hand, I had no problems agreeing to the additional security measures that the council__ now__ wanted us to take. In fact, I would've insisted on them myself. It's unfortunate that the additional gene sequence isn't expressed strongly enough to be used across the all of our technology but the most critical pieces will have the stepped up security__ including the main control interface of Atlantis__ Consequently, we have an escort waiting to take us to Atlantis if the gate is compromised since only myself and the other __members __of my team have the necessary genetic sequence__ to fully activate the city's defenses_

_My dark thoughts, my paranoia was all due to one reason, the Wraith. But it wasn't __as__ simple as the enemy we'd been facing for years now. The face of the enemy had changed. We'd always been secure in the knowledge __that the Erratus bugs could not assimilate our DNA into their own genetic structure. Now though all that was in question._

_During the rescue, the extraction team had performed a routine scan of the Wraith cruiser before going in. They found three beings matching with Ancient life signs. According to the report, they went ahead with the extraction focusing first on retrieving the two scientists. Once they were secure, the extraction team investigated the third signal only to find nothing. There were no other Ancients on the vessel but their scans continued to show one remaining. __There can be only one conclusion. __Somehow, there exists out there a Wraith that has Ancient DNA. _

_Who knows what affect our DNA will have on any Wraith that possesses it? There is one thing for certain, we must prepare for the possibility that any that do could access our__ technology. The genetic marker__s that have served as our security measure for centuries __are__ no longer secure._

_With this information, I know I can't let my team relax and enjoy the return of our friends. After today, we must redouble our efforts. The future of __our __race might very __well __rest on our successfully completing this project._

Jason sat staring at his laptop. His mind was swirling with questions and what-if scenarios. He knew that the Wraith could live indefinitely, what if this Wraith was still alive? Would he be after Atlantis? If he was alive, did he know about the weapon?

Again, Jason shut down his laptop and quickly changed into jeans and a clean t-shirt. He needed to tell someone about this. As soon as his door opened, he was practically running out into the hall not paying attention to his surroundings. Just outside his room, he ran smack into John.

Jason stumbled a bit before regaining his balance. "John your back!" It was a relief to know that John was back in Atlantis.

It was irrational but Jason was a good target for John's frustration. "Go back to your room Jason; I don't have time to deal with you!" John barked.

"What…deal with me?" Jason actually took a small step back from John. "But John I just…"

John growled and advanced on Jason. It was only Jason's hurt look that stopped him but the look had no effect on his mouth. "Jason, I don't have time to babysit you right now. Just do everyone a favor for once and stay in your room and out of trouble!" He didn't even give Jason a chance to respond. He just moved the short distance to his own quarters and went inside without looking back.

All thoughts of the Wraith were forgotten. Where seconds ago, Jason had been worried about the Wraith now he was wondering what he'd done to piss John off so badly. He'd gone out of his way to avoid Rodney and when that wasn't possible, he was polite. As far as he knew, Carson had no complaints about his performance in the infirmary and he'd done his punishment in the cafeteria without complaint. What did he do to piss John off?

Should he listen to John and just go back to his room? No, the information was too critical. If John wasn't willing to listen than perhaps Elizabeth would. He tapped his radio and asked. "Dr. Weir, this is Jason Sheppard do you have a moment?"

Her voice came back a few seconds later. Jason could hear the fatigue in her voice and felt bad that he had to disturb her. "Is it important Jason? It's been a long day."

"I'm sorry Dr. Weir but I think you need to hear this."

"Ok, meet me in the conference room."

A short while later Jason entered the conference room, he'd stopped in an empty room for a few minutes to compose himself so it took a little longer to get there than normal. He stopped abruptly when he saw John there. Fighting his nerves back, he tried to put on a calm, emotionless mask. Anyone that knew him well would see through it but hopefully Elizabeth wouldn't sense something was wrong.

"What's so important that you had to drag us here Jason?" Clearly John was still mad at him but for the life of him, Jason couldn't figure out what he'd done.

Elizabeth gave john a surprised look. Had something happened between the two of them or was John taking his frustrations out on Jason? If she were to try and step in, she could quite possible make the situation worse. "Jason what have you learned?"

"Dr. Weir, I think we need to step up our research on those other two worlds."

"What other two worlds?" John cut in.

Jason quickly repeated what he'd learned previously from the logs.

"I think the lab I was at was the third lab based on the number of log entries, there seems to be too much for it to be one of the others. That means we should be able to safely take the ZPM from one of the other labs without crippling our efforts though I would suggest the first world since the 2nd lab was used to make the material components of the weapon."

That was good news to both John and Elizabeth. It also made John feel guilty for snapping at Jason. In truth, he'd been upset about his men being in Wraith hands and also losing the ZPM to the Brotherhood. Jason hadn't deserved any of his attitude. In fact, he'd done everything John had asked of him since he arrived in Atlantis.

"There's more isn't there?" John asked, this time his tone was less annoyed, more conciliatory than before. He felt another stab of guilt when Jason started and looked at him, his eyes holding a mixture of confusion and hurt.

"Yes two things actually. I think the reason you haven't been able to get the control chair to work is not just because of power. It is because you didn't have what you needed."

"I'm not sure I understand. John and the others were able to use the control chair back on Earth." Elizabeth was leaning forward now; her brow was slightly furrowed in confusion.

"Well it is the second thing I have to tell you. When the Ancients rescued the missing scientists they found a Wraith that had evolved from the genetic code of an Ancient. There was enough Ancient DNA that he showed up as an Ancient on their sensors. So the council added in the second genetic sequence as an additional security measure to their most critical pieces of technology. They would've made it universal but apparently only the science team expressed the genes strongly enough to use the upgraded equipment."

Neither Elizabeth nor John was comfortable with Jason's new found knowledge. It made the situation even riskier. Now they not only had to worry about falling to the Wraith but the entire city might become a platform for Wraith expansion throughout both galaxies.

"What do you think John?" Asked Elizabeth.

John leaned back in his chair and gazed up at the ceiling. If someone didn't know John, they'd think he was trying to decide what he wanted for dinner instead of the pros and cons of a potentially dangerous mission. "I'm not really comfortable bringing Jason to a world where we just encountered the Wraith."

"We can use the scanners to make sure that there are no Wraith ships in orbit." Elizabeth pointed out.

"We don't have much choice. The Wraith are on their way and a ZPM could be a deciding factor."

"I agree. If the planet remains clear, I'd like your team to leave tomorrow morning." Elizabeth stood. "Thank you Jason, now unless I'm misreading the situation I believe that John has something to say to you."

John felt distinctly uncomfortable after Elizabeth left and it was made worse by the hopeful expression on Jason's face. Knowing that he was in the wrong, John apologized and explained what was going on in his head.

Jason thought about holding a grudge but decided that he needed John too much right now to place some childish game. But he had to tell John one thing. "You scared me. I actually thought you were going to hit me."

The soft, uncertain tone of Jason's voice cut at John like a knife. "I would never hit you, well unless it's to kick your ass at Aikido."

Jason's laugh was a little forced but it was enough for now.

**September 29****th****, 19****97****Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

It had been a little over a day since John, Jason and the rest of team returned from the planet. They had gotten lucky and it appeared to be the initial world where most of the background research had been conducted. Having learned from the first world they visited, multiple storage devices were brought with to ensure that they would be able to download all the information. Of course, the most immediate advantage gained from exploring the laboratory had been the recovery of a functioning ZPM.

Once back at Atlantis, Rodney had immediately gone to work incorporating the ZPM back into the city's power supply. It was only 60 full, but the power levels were more than sufficient to utilize shields and the other defenses that required a ZPM to function.

The same day that they brought back the ZPM, Dr. Zelenka determined that the three Wraith Hive ships and their escort cruisers would be at Atlantis within 10 days. Teyla and John had left shortly thereafter in a jumper to gather intelligence on the incoming Wraith fleet.

Despite the fact that they had a working ZPM, they could still not connect back to Earth via Stargate unless absolutely necessary. The power drain on the ZPM would be immense and they didn't want to diminish their chances of successfully defending the city against the Wraith. Instead, Rodney suggested that he might be able to string the Naquadah generators together to open a wormhole long enough to send a data burst through to the SGC.

While John and Teyla were off planet, Elizabeth had given Lieutenant Ford a project. He was going around to every member of the expedition allowing them to record a personal message that would be sent back to the SGC in the data burst.

Currently, he was filming Jason's message.

"Dad, first I want to say I'm sorry for disappearing on you like this. It wasn't supposed to work out this way but I am where I'm needed. I hope you can forgive me for leaving without telling you everything but I knew this was something that only I could do. "

"Second, when I do get back you don't have to worry about punishing me." Jason chuckled ruefully before he explained. "You'll be happy to know that I'm with John and he was more than a little surprised to find me when I arrived. I think a month doing the dishes for more than 100 people is punishment enough, hopefully you'll agree."

There was another pause while Jason considered his next words. He was trying to decide what to tell James. "Umm the people have been great here; I've been working with a doctor in the infirmary. He's taken me under his wing and he's training me to be a medic, you'd like him dad. Maybe one day I'll be able to introduce you."

"I know this is short but others have messages to send too. I love you dad."

To Rodney's dismay the ZPM proved Jason's second discovery. Specifically, that he was the only one in Atlantis that was able to operate the Control Chair. They'd had to wait until John got back from his mission since he was the only one who could authorize Jason to try it out.

John wasn't too thrilled by the idea either but it was for an entirely different reason. When the Wraith attacked they would know that whoever was operating the Control Chair was their biggest threat. He made a mental note to assign at least one team to make sure his brother was protected.

**September 30****th****, 19****97****Wraith Hive Ship, Pegasus Galaxy**

The Wraith Cruiser had been traveling through hyperspace for close to two days. During that time, their two prisoners had been left alone in a cell with no food or water. Despite their violent nature, the Wraith did not really understand torture or what might motivate a human to talk. By their own experience, hunger that went unsatisfied was the worst punishment imaginable. It certainly didn't affect the human soldiers in the same way, but it did serve to weaken them physically.

A rip tore through the fabric of space at the designated coordinates. Energy poured out from hyperspace into the material universe. A second later, the cruiser shot through the rip and came to a halt near the much larger Hive ship that was already at the coordinates.

Not long after their arrival, a small shuttle left the cruiser and flew towards the Hive ship.

"Shezz'la we have brought the prisoners."

The Wraith Lord looked up from the computer display he was examining. Standing before him, surrounded by guards were two humans. Their clothing was unlike anything worn by the Lanteans that he remembered but perhaps things have changed in the millennia since the Lanteans left this galaxy.

"Have you searched them for any tracking devices or weapons?" He could still feel the flash of anger from his failure to keep the two Lantean scientists prisoner. They would've been able to provide him with a wealth of information but his arrogance and overconfidence had allowed their escape.

"Yes Shezz'la. They carried only small primitive weapons. There was no Lantean technology." Replied another Wraith who then moved forward to hand Shezz'la one of the captured side-arms.

Shezz'la turned the weapon over in his hands slowly. They were right, this was definitely not Lantean technology, and it was far too primitive. But there was something about these two that practically reeked of their old enemies. The lab worlds were uninhabited; so it was unlikely that someone would randomly go to two of the worlds in such a short time frame. It couldn't be mere coincidence.

Perhaps these primitives held some useful information. If they didn't they looked to be quite defiant and strong, definitely a fitting meal.

At his full height, Shezz'la stood at nearly 7'. Slowly, he approached the two men. He spent the next ten hours interrogating the two men. The entire experience was exhilarating making one man watch while he slowly ripped the years from his comrade. He deliberately kept the process slow, the man's agonized screams just added to his enjoyment.

Thomson watched in horror as the Wraith fed from Michaels. It was supposed to be quick. Everyone they'd ever talked to had said it was over in minutes. At first he'd refused to answer any questions from this monster but as the hours wore on and Michael's voice gave out from his prolonged screaming, Thomson gave in. It was impossible to watch his friend be tortured, he knew they were both going to die but that didn't make it any easier to watch.

As much as possible he tried to hold back information. It just became harder when Michaels was dead and he could feel his own life being forcibly pulled from him. In the end he was able to keep the most important piece of information from the Wraith, the location of Earth, but that was it.

When the desiccated of husk of the second prisoner fell to the floor, Shezz'la practically moaned in disappointment. The two primitives had been his most satisfying meal in centuries. Sadly, there were more pressing matters to attend to.

"Recall the cruisers. I want a pair to join the force that is going to assault Atlantis. There is a boy there that is the key to unlocking the Lantean secrets."


	9. First Blood Part 1

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

**A/N: ****Spoiler****s for Eps 1.1****8****the****Gift, ****1.1****9****Siege pt 1, and 1.20 Siege pt 2**

**A/N 2: Sorry for the split chapter but it would have been too long and I wanted to get something out.**

**Chapter ****9**** First Blood Part 1**

**October ****5****th****, 19****97****London****UK**

James just leaned back in his chair. The TV screen had gone black and before James even realized what he was doing, he'd pressed the rewind button again. It had been more than two months since Jason had gone through the Veil. In that time, the only thing that kept James going was hope and the needs of his other son Thomas.

"Dad first I want to say…" James had already memorized every word that Jason said. It still amazed him the power that Jason had over him every time he called him dad. Somehow it gave him hope that everything would turn out ok.

The message itself was short but for the first time since his disappearance James had concrete proof that Jason was alive and well. Apparently, he'd even managed to end up in the same place as John, though how that was possible James didn't know. Still, there was something in the message that worried him as well. He didn't realize what it was until after the third viewing and when he did, he felt a chill go through him.

Not wanting to sit alone in his flat and not up to visiting Thomas, James decided to drop in on Sirius.

He knew that Sirius was disappointed that Jason hadn't bonded with him as deeply as he had James or John. It wasn't that they didn't get along but simply that Jason didn't really know where Sirius fit into the family picture. He already had god parents and a brother and James for the longest time was allowed to play the role of father so Sirius was left on the outside looking in. Despite all that, he'd been just as worried about Jason as James had been.

Even though he could simply walk into or apparate into Sirius' place, James always knocked first. There'd been a few times when he'd accidentally interrupted Sirius getting to know a witch. During those times, he'd seen more of his friend than he'd ever wanted.

A moment after knocking, Sirius opened the door. When he saw it was James, he visibly brightened. "Prongs! What are you doing here?" He stepped away from the door and motioned James inside.

"Can't a guy come over to see his friend without having an ulterior motive?" Asked James trying to look hurt but failing miserably.

Sirius sank into a leather arm chair before laughing. "For anyone else I would say yes, but you no. And I know for a fact that it isn't my cooking that brought you here."

This time James scowled before sprawling out on Sirius' couch.

"Please feel free to make yourself comfortable. Is there anything I can get you, slippers or coffee maybe?"

"Ha, ha and here I thought you'd want to know I received a message from Jason. Since I was wrong, I can head out." James made no effort to move though; he knew Sirius would be anxious for any news of his godson.

"What? Jason's back? Why didn't you say something sooner? For that matter why are you here and not at your place?" Sirius was rambling and leaning forward on the edge of his chair.

From his position on the couch, James smiled at his friend and wondered how it was that he hadn't ended up sitting on his ass on the floor given how precariously he was sitting. "No he isn't back but he did send me a message. Wherever the Veil sent him, it was the same place that John is at."

Sirius just watched as James closed his eyes and recited the message from his godson. In his mind he could picture Jason delivering his message. He felt better just knowing that there was concrete evidence that his godson was alive and well.

"Has there been any headway on the Veil?" Asked Sirius, thus breaking the silence that had fallen over them after James finished reciting the message.

James was still reclining on the couch but he'd kicked off his shoes and now had his hands under his head. "No, we've been able to translate the writing on the arch with the translation material that Jason gave Croaker before leaving. Part of me almost wishes we didn't know what it said."

"Why?"

"Because it makes it more frustrating when we can't figure out a way to turn the damn thing on. For whatever reason Jason was the only one who has been able to activate it. On the other hand, we think the Veil was the reason that the wards and enchantments failed in the Ministry last time. The thing had to draw power from somewhere and it used the ambient magic as that source."

Sirius stood and went to get another cup of coffee. After getting a positive nod from James when he offered him a cup, Sirius disappeared into the kitchen for a few minutes. When he came back, he was carrying two steaming cups of coffee. Once he placed one next to James on the end table, he took his seat again. "Do you think the Veil is going to cause any problems for Jason if he comes back? You know the Minister has been looking for a scapegoat."

"I don't know, but right now there is no way for anyone to reach Jason. At least there is no magical way since somehow John and the US military seem to be there as well." James paused and stared into the cup of coffee that he'd picked up. "It felt like he was saying goodbye."

"What? I don't understand." Perhaps it was because he hadn't heard Jason talk or the expression on his face, but on the surface he didn't understand where James was coming from.

"It wasn't anything he said, it was just a feeling I got. There is something going on there, wherever they are and Jason is nervous."

"He'll be ok Prongs; John is there to look after him."

James turned stricken eyes on Sirius and he choked out "I can't lose him a second time Sirius. I don't know if I can go through that again."

**October 6****th****, 19****97****Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

It was the first time in close to a month that Jason and John had sparred. Not that he would admit it to John, but he'd missed the time they used to spend together. At least he'd been able to spar with Ford, it was good exercise and it had been nice to hang out with someone relatively close to his own age.

Jason grunted when he hit the floor hard for the 3rd time in as many minutes. Either John had gotten better since the last time they fought or his insomnia was taking more of a toll on him than he thought.

For his part, John took the opportunity to get a better look at Jason. In the past they'd always been a little more evenly matched but Jason was not reacting as quickly as usually did. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I guess I'm just tired." He reached out and grabbed John's hand to hoist himself up.

"Maybe you should take a break from the infirmary. I'm sure Carson would understand."

It was true that he'd been working hard. Not only had he been pulling his normal shift in the infirmary with Carson but he'd also been spending an almost equal amount of time with McKay and Zelenka calibrating the Command Chair. Fortunately, like John, he had an almost instinctual understanding of the chair and how it worked.

While his control of the chair grew with every usage, it still took energy and concentration. With the ZPM in place, the city's weapons and defenses could be powered. John and the other military almost had an orgasm when they got a detailed account of the city's capabilities.

There were point defense systems based on plasma pulse cannons. The main purpose of the weapons was to defend the city against fighters and incoming ordinance. It was possible that they could even be used to intercept incoming energy weapon fire from the Wraith ships.

The secondary offensive weapon was an offshoot of the point defense systems. The plasma cannons fired beams of energy rather than short bursts. The range was still comparatively short because the atmosphere refracted the beam so that it lost cohesion fairly quickly. Targets in high orbit would be damaged but probably not destroyed. Anything within the atmosphere could be eliminated with just a few shots.

The primary weapons were the drones which had an extremely long range regardless of whether they were launched in space or from within the atmosphere. Unfortunately, the city's supply of drones was virtually depleted. Only a dozen or so drones remained functional and they would be used as a final defense.

Of course the city now had enough power for the shield as well but McKay and Zelenka were still coming up with models to predict how much power would be needed to defend the city and if necessary open a wormhole back to Earth. That was the main reason why they hadn't done anything more than send the data burst through with the Naquadah generators before, the power requirements of the weapons and shields were still too unknown to risk draining the ZPM by maintaining a wormhole.

At times when he was sitting in the chair, Jason was frightened by the firepower at his command. Equally as often though, he was exhilarated, almost eager to see how well the weapons were perform in combat and not just the simulations that McKay and Zelenka had managed to rig up.

A positive side effect of his work in the chair had been fewer nightmares. The feeling of control and power gave him a sense of security that he'd needed with the threat of the Wraith hanging over the city. But even with fewer nightmares, he still wasn't sleeping much at night. Now it was because of overwork rather than subconscious fears and insecurities.

"Jason? I really think you should talk to Carson. Given the situation, I think he will understand." John grabbed two towels from his bag and tossed one to Jason.

The towel landed on Jason's head and brought him back from his thoughts. "Huh, oh yeah I will. It's just he's been so busy with Teyla and making sure the infirmary is setup for what's to come."

John grimaced slightly remembering how tough the last couple of days had been on everyone but Teyla in particular. She'd begun having nightmares about the Wraith being loose in the city killing everyone, herself included. Then they changed until she was the Wraith. The nightmares began to take a toll on her until finally after talking with an Athosian she viewed as a mentor, she learned the truth.

Teyla was descended from those who had been experimented on by the Wraith. In an effort to make the feeding process more efficient, a Wraith scientist had inserted Wraith DNA into humans. The side effects of the procedure had driven most of the survivors mad but a few escaped the planet with their sanity intact.

The traits introduced by the scientist were passed down to children but the effects were less pronounced. Rather than hearing a constant buzz of voices like their parents, the children and grandchildren could only sense when a Wraith was near them. It was viewed as a special gift, a way to protect their people.

After translating the scientist's logs from his experiments, Elizabeth theorized that the humans were tapping into the Wraith psychic network. So, in an effort to get some intelligence on the approaching Wraith, Teyla entered a state of deep hypnosis in an attempt to access the Wraith network and learn of their plans. The first two times, Teyla almost lost herself. The second time, a Wraith had even managed to take control briefly before she was stunned. But the third and final time she was successful and learned of the Wraith's true goals. The Wraith weren't after Atlantis. They wanted the gateway to Earth, a rich new feeding ground.

"How is Teyla doing?" Asked Jason. He liked Teyla and couldn't imagine how hard it would be to find out that you had some of the same DNA as your mortal enemies.

John just shrugged and wrapped the towel around his neck. "She's still getting use to the idea. Carson cleared her for active duty so we're going off world today to check out a possible planet in case we need to fallback."

"Why do we need a fallback? Can't we just go to Earth?" While he was asking his question Jason had moved over to the wall and pulled a dry t-shirt out of his bag.

"You could say it's the backup backup plan. If the weapons and shields drain too much power from the ZPM there might not be enough power to dial up Earth long enough for everyone to get through so we want someplace in Pegasus we can take refuge in too.

For the first time in weeks, Jason saw John smile, even if it was at his own joke. "And Teyla's going too?"

"Yes she is. Why, do you have a problem with that?" John already had enough trouble dealing with Sergeant Bates' suspicions regarding Teyla; he really didn't need it coming from Jason too.

"No, I'm just surprised. It's gotta suck being her right now. I don't personally care but you know that a lot of people will be looking at her differently. I just figured that there would be objections to you bringing her along." Being a wizard, Jason knew all about being different, so her additional talents didn't bother him even if they did come from the Wraith.

John didn't bother to answer. He couldn't discuss Bates' suspicions but everyone on base had surely heard rumors by now. As the military commander he couldn't undercut Bates' authority like that even if he was only speaking with his brother.

As they were walking out of the gym to go back to their quarters Jason asked about something else that had been on everyone's mind. "John, what's going to happen? Do we really have a chance?"

John opened his mouth and was about to spout the standard answer when he remembered who he was talking to. Jason needed an honest answer; he'd already been through alien invasions and needed more than platitudes. "I don't know. With the ZPM we have a real chance."

"But what about afterwards? I heard McKay telling Zelenka that there were at least 60 hive ships in the galaxy. Won't more be on their way, especially if they are looking for a way to Earth?"

"Why don't we worry about beating back this attack before we go borrowing trouble? For all we know, this is the only group that knows about Earth." Jason's question had touched on a subject that he, Elizabeth and the others had been ignoring as much as possible. With the current crisis facing them, it wasn't too difficult to forget about future battles.

"Will we destroy the city? I mean if we can't hold back the Wraith." Stuttered Jason. They were nearing their quarters but he wasn't ready to go in just yet. He needed some sort of reassurance from John that everything could be alright. The situation was too serious for false hope but he needed to know what that there was at least a chance.

"It won't come to that. We will win this battle and then figure things out from there." John said confidently, more confidently than he felt. He knew Jason well enough to know that he needed to hear the words even if they weren't entirely true.

Finally, they reached the doors to their quarters. "Hurry up and get ready, we have a meeting with Elizabeth and the others to go over the progress of all our preparations."

Less than 20 minutes later, Jason was waiting outside in the hall for John. His hair was still wet and the collar of his t-shirt was damp from where the water had run down the back of his neck. Growing impatient, he waved his over the door lock again and finally John opened the door. He was in his normal blue BDUs with a black combat vest. The only thing he didn't have on him was a P90.

"And you wanted me to hurry? What were you doing in there?" Jason grinned when he saw John frown. "Are you trying to make yourself pretty for someone?"

John glared at Jason. "Shut up! We're going to be late."

The briefing was short. McKay took John and everyone else in the room by surprise by actually complementing Jason's control of the city's defenses. Of course he had to qualify it by saying simulations didn't guarantee performance in a real life scenario. The briefing from McKay didn't end there, he also suggested a mission out to the one remaining defense satellite. He was confident that with a Naquadah generator, it could be brought back on line. If it worked than they wouldn't even need to worry about the city because the satellite was capable of defeating the small fleet on its own.

Elizabeth gave him a go; he and Peter would go out to the satellite in a Puddle Jumper and bring it online. Things would be tight, it was close to 15 hours to the satellite and the Wraith were only 36 hours away.

Jason would continue to work with Zelenka on simulations with the Control Chair, refining his control and getting a better feel for the capabilities of the different weapons systems.

John, Ford and Teyla would continue investigating planets in an effort to find a backup planet to fall back to.

Things in the city had been routine while John and Rodney were away on their respective missions. Jason continued his practice sessions, and the other members of the Atlantis expedition continued with their preparations for the coming attack.

As the hours ticked by, the anxiety and tension levels in the city's inhabitants grew. The tension in the air was palpable but there was a small feeling of hope as well. As with everything else, the rumor mill quickly spread the details of Rodney's mission and the potential advantage the satellite could offer.

Jason and Zelenka were running yet another simulation when they received word that the satellite had wiped out one of the 3 Hive ships before it was destroyed by the remaining fleet. The excitement was dulled by the fact that Peter Grodin was lost in the explosion. So as quickly as it had come the sense of hope receded once again.

Another benefit besides the destruction of a Hive ship had been that the Wraith slowed their approach. By the time that Rodney had returned, the Wraith having paused to regroup or reconsider their strategy were still more than 15 hours away.

So it was that Jason, John and the others were once again in the briefing room going over options and plans for when the Wraith would arrive. With the destruction of the satellite, Elizabeth was also forced to give more consideration to the self-destruct option and all the associated actions necessary to pull it off. As one of the scientists pointed out, the destruction of the city needed to be complete to ensure that the Wraith weren't able to salvage any of the hyperspace engine technology which could enable them to reach Earth.

The second consideration that had taken both Elizabeth and John by surprise was the destruction of the Ancient database. There were so many backups that it was virtually impossible to guarantee that the destruction of the city would destroy the database. In order to prevent the database from possibly falling into Wraith hands, Zelenka and Rodney proposed that a virus be created that could be set to destroy the database even if the Wraith were to physically recover it.

Shortly after work began on the virus, alarms began blaring in the control room. "We have an incoming wormhole!"

The console was being manned by a Sergeant Hart. He was stepping in for Bates who had been injured by a lone Wraith that had somehow infiltrated the city.

Elizabeth along with Jason and John rushed into the control room from Elizabeth's office. "Raise the shield!"

The Stargate was surrounded with a soft gold-white glow following Elizabeth's order. "Ma'am we're receiving an IDC." Hart looked up her in surprise. "It's from the SGC."

"Lower the shield." Ordered John from his position beside Elizabeth.

Jason didn't know much about the SGC beyond the fact that it was the organization that ran the Stargate on Earth. How were they able to connect to Atlantis? According to John they didn't have a power source strong enough to for the wormhole.

A few seconds after the shield was lowered, the first people to step through the gate from Earth in close to a year appeared. It was a group of soldiers dressed in combat fatigues and armed to the teeth. Following behind the first three men more soldiers appeared carrying large cargo containers.

John and Elizabeth walked down the stairs to greet the men while Jason remained behind in the control room.

When John saw the rank of the man in the lead, he snapped to attention. Before he could do anything more than salute the man was introducing himself.

"I'm Colonel Dillon Everett." The man was older than John. He was perhaps, 50 years old with short grey hair and a stern expression on his face. With a quick movement, he'd reached into his vest and removed a set of orders. After handing them to Elizabeth he announced "Dr. Weir you are hereby temporarily relieved of command until such time as the present Wraith threat has passed."

"You are aware that we have three Hive Ships and multiple cruisers less than a day away from Atlantis?" Asked Elizabeth with a bland expression on her face. She refused to give this man any satisfaction. It had only been seconds but she already disliked him. But she was also wondering why there were here, a handful of soldiers would not make any appreciable difference. That being said, she would not turn away the help.

"Yes we are aware of the situation. That's why we're here. We just have to hold the city for three days until the Daedelus arrives with a ZPM."

Everett would never admit it, but he was a little disappointed by the lack of reaction from either Elizabeth or John. Before agreeing to take the mission, he read every mission report to get a feel for Elizabeth and had been pissed to learn that John Sheppard had shot his friend Colonel Sumner. Part of his reason for agreeing to come to Atlantis was because this mission would give him an opportunity to get payback.

When it became obvious that neither were going to say anything, he explained the rest of his mission. The crates brought by the other soldiers contained the components to construct rail guns and enough ammunition to hold off the Wraith for three days.

It took every shred of willpower John had to keep from smirking. The Colonel hadn't made any friends by marching in and summarily relieving Elizabeth of command while acting like he was their salvation. Of course the rail guns could be helpful but he was confident that Jason would be able to keep the fighters from reaching Atlantis. And it was doubtful that the rail guns would be powerful enough to damage anything larger than a Wraith Dart.

As if sensing John's feelings, the Colonel turned to address him again when he noticed Jason standing in the control room. "Major perhaps you could tell me why there is a teenager allowed in a sensitive area."

John wasn't fooled while the words were polite; the tone of the Colonel's voice was anything but.

Elizabeth answered before John could. If he didn't recognize Jason as John's brother than she wasn't going to call it to his attention. The Colonel had an agenda she was sure of it and it included John Sheppard. "I asked him to participate in the briefing."

"That may be but a teenager has no place here. Sergeant, escort the boy to his quarters and see that he stays there."

A rather nondescript looking Sergeant straightened slightly and moved towards Jason.

"You can't do that Colonel." Argued Elizabeth.

"You're no longer in command Dr. Weir, I'm afraid you don't have any say in the matter." He looked at her scornfully. Civilians had no business running what should be a military mission, though Elizabeth had performed adequately in a difficult situation.

Elizabeth's voice lost all emotion and she clasped her hands behind her back to hind her clenching fists. She wouldn't give the man the satisfaction of knowing that he'd gotten under her skin. "That boy is the only one in Atlantis that is able to use the Command Chair. You see Colonel a few things have changed since we sent our data burst to the SGC."

"What are you talking about? Major Sheppard used the Command Chair in Antarctica, why can't he do so here?"

Elizabeth smiled grimly now. The control of knowledge evened out the struggle between them. She explained about the additional security measures put into place by the Ancients and the fact that Jason was the only one with both genetic sequences. At the end of her explanation, she added the information about their recovery of a ZPM. She beamed unabashedly at the shocked look on the Colonel's face now.

"And how exactly did your brother find his way to Atlantis Major?" The Colonel gave up sparring with Elizabeth in favor of someone who was under his command. Somehow the man had smuggled his brother into the expedition, when they made it back to Earth, he would see the man court martialed for it.

John wanted to glare at the man but he kept his face neutral. "That information was included in our data burst sir but I'm afraid it is classified. My brother has participated in numerous Top Secret projects and his clearance rating is higher than anyone here in Atlantis."

Like Elizabeth, John was enjoying the sight of the Colonel turning red. Unlike General O'Neill who had been frustrated by his brother's clearance level because it drove him mad with curiosity, the Colonel was just furious that information was being kept from him. But like Colonel Sumner he believed firmly in maintaining the chain of command so he couldn't press either one of them for details.

It was clear to everyone in the room that the Colonel doubted virtually everything he was being told. It wasn't until he watched John sit in the Control Chair that he began to believe the quick debrief from Elizabeth. The truth became impossible to ignore when Jason sat in the Control Chair and it powered up immediately.

In an effort to be helpful, Jason displayed a map of the city showing the locations of the various weapons installations. A handful of the installations were darkened, indicating that they were damaged or non-functional. It was agreed that the rail guns brought by the Colonel would be setup in these areas in order to maximize coverage of the city.

"Dr. Weir, the Wraith are on the move." The call went out over all the radio frequencies letting everyone in Atlantis know. "They will be here in 15 hours."

"Lt Ford I need you to coordinate the installation of the rail guns. Major Sheppard, you're with me. We will assign the men to teams to man the guns and key points in the city should the Wraith manage to break through."

"Colonel, I suggest we have a team guard the Control Chair, it will be essential to the defense of the city."

"I agree Major."

Everyone separated. Jason went back to his quarters to get some sleep before the Wraith arrived, it was anyone's guess how long the battle would last and using the Control Chair required his total attention.

**October 7****th****, 19****97****London, UK**

James walked into Thomas' room in the hospital. He needed something to take his mind off of Jason and the message he'd received a couple of days ago. Try as might, James just couldn't shake the feeling that Jason had been saying goodbye.

From the doorway of Thomas' room he was greeted to a surprising sight. His eyebrows raised and James leaned casually against the door with his arms crossed in front of him. Thomas was moving almost easily, albeit with the use of a cane. It was the first time he'd seen Thomas move around without grimacing in pain or effort.

Thomas still hadn't noticed his arrival when he made it to his bed. Once Thomas was seated, James started to clap softly. Thomas' head whipped around and he smiled brightly when his saw his dad standing there.

"I didn't know you were coming today." Thomas said brightly as he made himself more comfortable on his bed.

James straightened and moved to sit on a chair near Thomas' bed. "I thought you might like some company for lunch."

They were still in a muggle hospital so James made sure that no one was walking by when he enlarged the food he'd brought with him. It wasn't anything fancy, just a number of sandwiches and chips that he'd picked up at the Leaky Cauldron before leaving for the hospital.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that Thomas had something he wanted to talk about but despite his best efforts, James was unable to get him to open up during lunch.

"Dad, what's going to happen to me when I get out of here? The doctors think I'll be strong enough to leave by November."

Now he understood why Thomas was nervous but there was no need. First, James smiled broadly at his son. "That's great news, I knew you were doing well but I had no idea that you'd come so far."

It would have been impossible for someone to miss the way Thomas seemed to sell with pride. He'd come a long way since waking up and not just physically. This was perhaps the first time that all of the work to accomplish something had been his own. Trying to deflect the praise a little, Thomas groped for his water and took a long swallow.

The change in Thomas was amazing to James. At one time, his son would've basked in the praise and demanded more. Now he actually seemed a little embarrassed by it, like he wasn't sure what to do with it. Taking pity on his son, he decided to answer the question. "You'll come to live with me. I have more than enough room. When you're ready you can either go back to Hogwarts or if you'd prefer I will see about getting private tutors."

"Really? I can live with you? What about Jason where will he stay?" Thomas had grown increasingly curious about his twin. He was hoping Jason would be coming home for the holidays.

"Of course you can, I wouldn't have it any other way." James paused for a second to consider his thoughts. "I'm really proud of you. You have worked so hard and adapted so well."

"Daaad!" Thomas cried out embarrassed by the praise again.

Laughing, James leaned forward and ruffled his son's already messy hair.

"Will Jason be home for the holidays? I really want to see him. Do you think he blames me for anything?" The questions came pouring out before he could stop them.

"I don't know if he will be back or not." James looked up at the ceiling trying to decide what he could tell his other son. True, Jason was well out of the reach of Dumbledore but he didn't want to worry Thomas either. "His older brother is expected to return from a secret mission he's been on so it's possible that Jason will stay in the US to spend time with him."

Thomas looked at James suspiciously. "You're not just saying that to make me feel better are you? He's not staying in the US to avoid me is he?"

"No not at all. John has been gone for almost a year. Jason's parents died when he was 11 and John has been taking care of him since then. They are very close and the separation has been hard on Jason." It was technically true; Jason had not taken the separation from John very well. While his relationship with Jason was close enough to father and son that Jason called him dad, he knew that John would always come first. It had hurt when he recognized this but James was also thankful that Jason had grown up in such a strong loving family.

Unlike James, Thomas hadn't had as much time to get use to the idea of his brother having other people that he called family. A stab of jealousy went through him. He should be the one that Jason wanted to see, not some brother that he wasn't even related to. "What about me? Doesn't he want to see me?"

"Yes he does but honestly Thomas he doesn't know you. The fact that you are his biological brother is almost academic to him. The last time he saw you awake, you both were 18 months old. John is the brother he's know for the last 15 years. So you'll just have to be patient." Silently James added his own hopes that Jason would make it back from wherever he and John were safely.

**October 7****th****, 19****97****Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy **

A little over 15 hours after the Wraith fleet started to move, they were nearing the planet. In the 15 hours since the Wraith resumed their course for Atlantis, the rail guns had been assembled and put into place at the locations suggested by Jason.

The Colonel had brought along another surprise for the Wraith in addition to the rail guns. A number of nuclear warheads were deployed in a high orbit above Atlantis like mines using the Puddle Jumpers. The yield of the warheads was high enough to potentially cripple or destroy the Wraith ships on impact.

"Colonel, the Wraith are slowing." Announced Zelenka from his position at the long range sensors. "Wait, we have large number of incoming objects."

Above the planet, the Wraith fleet opened fire on a nearby asteroid. Blue energy bolts exploded on the surface and shattered the asteroid sending the pieces careening towards the planet.

Most of the pieces burned up in the atmosphere, but the largest of the chunks rammed into the nuclear warheads.

In Atlantis, they watched as the make-shift mines were destroyed in violent flashes that sent out massive EMPs blinding their long range sensors.

Zelenka looked at the Colonel. "Our sensors are down. The EMP from those warheads will blind us for the next 15 minutes."

The Colonel swore softly and clicked his radio. "All teams prepare for incoming Wraith ships. Chair room, stand by with the city defenses."

Moving quickly and efficiently from years of practice, Everett checked his weapon and prepared to move out to take his position and assist with the defense of the city. "Dr. Weir, I'm leaving you in charge of the control room. Radio me if any our defense batteries are neutralized."

"Yes Colonel."

The Colonel was only moments away from the control room with his team when another call came in over the radio from Zelenka. "We have incoming Wraith Darts!"

The Wraith were coming in a large group with a steep angle of descent.

Every defense team tensed and waited for the incoming fighters to appear. The Wraith had timed their arrival with nightfall so it was completely dark. Even the city lights had been dimmed to make it more difficult for the Wraith.

In the dark of night, the defenders of Atlantis couldn't see the incoming fighters. The only clue to their approach was the whine of their engines growing steadily louder.

From within the bowels of Atlantis, Jason directed the weapons fire. The Chair was projecting the location of the Wraith directly to his mind. He could pinpoint exactly where each fighter was located. His eyes began to glow slightly as he channeled power from the ZPM to the plasma pulse cannons.

Suddenly the sky lit up. Glowing iridescent green pulses of plasma flashed into the night sky. The point defense systems of the city were opening fire.

John and the other soldiers watched as explosions flashed brightly. "Be ready for incoming fighters."

A handful of Wraith darts swerved and dodged, avoiding the incoming defensive fire. Pale blue white bolts of energy shot from the nose of the fighters.

The shots were met by interceptor fire from the city. Green plasma met blue white energy bolts and destroyed each other with soft detonations.

The rail guns opened up. Tracer fire stitched across the night sky leading the Wraith fighters towards cross-fires and tearing through the thin armor. The muted thumps as the gun fired forced the teams to yell in order to be heard.

In minutes, the first wave of Wraith fighters were destroyed.

A brief cheer went up across the city; they'd survived the first wave of the attack.

"Colonel, a second wave of Wraith fighters is approaching the city. They've altered their approach; we have small groups coming in from all sides."

Jason frowned. The first wave of fighters had approached the city from the same angle so he'd been able to concentrate the defensive fire destroying them quickly and easily. It wouldn't be as simple this time.

The men assigned to guard Jason and the Control room were unnerved by the way that Jason was glowing. At first it had been limited to just his eyes, but the longer he worked with the chair drawing on the power of the ZPM the more it spread to the rest of his body.

For the second time, the night sky was lit up by the green light radiating off the plasma bolts.

Explosions were spread across the sky but more fighters were able to evade the fire and returned fire with their own weapons.

As soon as the fighters were in range, the rail guns opened fire as well.

Elizabeth watched from the control tower. It was almost beautiful in its own way. The darkened cityscape was being backlit by the yellow streaks of light from the rail guns, explosions as fighters were caught in the cross fire, green plasma bolts and the Wraiths blue white energy weapons.

Small groups of fighters were able to evade the defensive fire. On reaching the city, the culling beams flared to life depositing groups of Wraith warriors.

The fighters swerved between the buildings of the city and became difficult targets to hit without damaging the city itself. They were thus were spared for critical seconds. While they were allowed a few additional seconds of life to beam in more soldiers or sweep up anyone unlucky enough to be in the open, the fighters were quickly destroyed once they cleared the city skyline.

In those seconds, two groups manning rail guns were scooped up, opening holes in the defense grid.

"Colonel Everett, Major Sheppard, Teyla we are picking up Wraith within the city." Instructions were given to the three teams to direct them to the invaders.

Most of the invaders were intent on disrupting operations, but one group had a more specific objective. They were after whoever was using the Control Chair.

John and a squad of 4 men were moving quickly through the corridors towards the location given to them. The life signs detector showed John that there was a group of close to 10 Wraith in the room ahead them and moving in their direction.

He held up his closed fist motioning for the men to stop. Using hand signals, he split his team in two. Each pair of men was sent to opposite sides of the room and positioned themselves behind crates left over from the rail gun construction.

John himself moved to a third location directly in front of the door way.

The door slid opened and a Wraith grenade rolled into the room. "Down" Yelled John but not everyone reacted in time. Two of the men were stunned by the flash of light and sound which was similar in function to their own flash-bang grenades.

The flash of the explosion was followed almost immediately by the soft buzzing sound of the Wraith stunners. 4 Wraith soldiers entered the room firing their stunners blindly in an effort to force John and his men to remain undercover.

John moved to the side of the crate he was hiding behind and opened fire with his P90. The weapon kicked in his hand as he emptied a full clip into the two leading Wraith soldiers. He didn't even take the time to see if they were dead, he dove quickly back behind the crate and pulled a clip from his harness and snapped it into place.

While John was reloading, the two remaining members of his squad opened up catching the Wraith in a cross fire.

The remaining two soldiers collapsed to the floor riddled with bullets but one of the two men was hit by a stunner when the remaining 5 Wraith entered the room.

John popped up and opened fire again but was forced to drop back down when he was targeted.

Faced with no other choice, John pulled a grenade from his vest and threw it over the crate and yelled "Fire in the hole!"

The smoke from the grenade obscured everything in the room but John knew the general location of the Wraith. So he stood and opened fire at anything that moved.

The surviving Wraith opened fire. Stunner blasts started peppering the room.

The other soldier followed his example and caught another Wraith before getting hit in the head with a stunner blast.

This time when John finished emptying his clip there were no more return shots from the Wraith.

"This is Sheppard, I need a medical team at my location 4 men are down."

"Major, we are sending a team. We are detecting another Wraith team heading towards the Chair room. Can you assist?"

John knew he should stay with his men but there was no way that he was going to leave Jason to face the Wraith alone. Unfortunately for his conscience, his military training kicked in. "Affirmative, once the med team has my men, I will head towards the Control room."

"This is Teyla, my team has been incapacitated. I will head to the Control room to meet up with Major Sheppard." Announced Teyla from her position in a store room on the opposite side of the city.

Oblivious to the danger that was even now making its way to his location, Jason continued to focus his attention on the Wraith fighters. In his mind's eye, he watched as yet another wave of fighters approached the city. Like the second wave, they were approaching from multiple vectors.

More fighters broke through the defensive cover now that multiple rail guns were off line. He considered bringing the shields on line but that would prevent the weapons from firing. More than likely, it would just draw fire from the Hive ships and deplete the ZPM.

In desperation, Jason launched the few drones that were available. The small swarm of golden missiles soared into the sky, each one targeting a separate fighter. Mere seconds after the launch, 14 fighters were blown from the night sky.

The drones eliminated enough of the fighters that Jason was able to target the remaining craft with the pulse cannons.

The bark of a P90 broke his concentration. Jason turned his head just in time to see the last of his guards collapse under a volley of Wraith stunner fire. He was too late to save the men, but not too late to save himself. Before the Wraith could enter, he threw up a shield around himself and dove out of the chair at the same time that stunner blasts slammed into the chair.

The Wraith tracked his position immediately as there was little cover in the room and he didn't want to use the chair for cover lest it be damaged. The stunner blasts were absorbed by his shield but it was quickly becoming a strain to maintain.

He cupped his hands together and formed a sphere of magic. At the same time, another sphere identical in every respect but size formed around the 3 Wraith just inside the room.

The Wraith continued to fire but their shots now impacted harmlessly on the shell of the sphere. The remaining Wraith outside the room were firing as well but were having no effect.

Jason took a breath to marshal his strength. His eyes glowed brightly as he clasped his hands together, crushing the sphere. The larger sphere mimicked the actions of its twin and shrank to a fraction of its size, crushing the Wraith within.

Unfortunately the sphere was no longer blocking the remaining Wraith and they rushed into the room. The rate of fire increased until there was almost a solid beam of stunners slamming into the shield around Jason.

Jason's shirt was clinging to his chest like a second skin and was soaked in sweat. In desperation, he reached deeper into his magic than he had since the day his mom died. His magic surged within him, practically singing to him. For the first time in years, he didn't try to restrain or hold back the magic flowing through him.

His eyes blazed as he poured his magic into the Wraith weapons.

The Wraith screamed in pain as the stunners grew white hot in a matter of seconds. The weapons dripped and pooled on the floor before the liquid metal began to flow and move as if it were alive. Their screams of pain cut off abruptly as the metal flowed up over their bodies encasing them in a thin layer of liquid metal. Before the bodies could collapse, the metal returned to its solid form.

Jason was still focused on the Wraith statues when John came barreling into the room disregarding any potential threats that may have been inside. He skidded to a halt when Jason's head snapped over to look at him. His brother's eyes were blazing, literally giving off more light that the equipment in the room.

"Whoa, Jason it's me! You're safe! There's no more Wraith here."

Jason blinked slowly, the light fading from his eyes. "John?" He asked a little disoriented.

John rushed forward and grabbed him around the waist when he saw Jason sag.

"Who's making the room spin?" Without his magic pulsing in him, exhaustion washed over Jason leaving him light headed and weak.

Seeing his brother practically pass out, John wasn't sure if he should put him back in the Control Chair so he lowered him to the floor. That was when Teyla made it to the room. She stared briefly at the new Wraith 'statues' before moving over to John and Jason. No one was saying anything about the mass of blood and flesh that was off to the side of the entrance.

"This is Sheppard, the Control room is secure. What's our situation?"

"The third wave of fighters has been destroyed and sensors aren't picking up any more Wraith in the city. The Wraith seem to have pulled back for the moment."

"Roger that, let me know if something changes."

Teyla looked at Jason with concern. "Is Jason alright? Was he hit with a stunner?"

"No, I think he's just tired from using the chair and then fighting off the Wraith with his magic." John wasn't sure how Teyla would react to what Jason had done. She of course had seen a demonstration of what he was capable of but against the Wraith he'd been more than a little brutal. John hoped it was just a result of being caught up in the heat of the moment.

"If the Wraith learn of his abilities, he will be hunted down. They will not want others to learn that a single person was able to best so many of them." Teyla wished that there were others with Jason's abilities. They'd been impressive when she first saw them but she'd been unsure how useful they would be in actual combat against the Wraith. If the remains of the Wraith team in the room were any indication, his abilities were quite effective.

John nodded. He was thinking the same thing. "Well, these Wraith won't be telling anyone about him." Without disturbing Jason, John removed his vest and jacket. The jacket was rolled up and placed on the floor before he maneuvered Jason into lying fully on the floor with John's jacket as his pillow.

"Is he always this drained after using his magic?"

"No, I'm a little worried about him actually. I don't know if it's all the time he's spent practicing with the Control Chair." While he was talking it occurred to John that he hadn't really spent much time at all with Jason for the last few weeks and he felt a little guilty about that. The Wraith were part of the reason but he also knew that Jason had been avoiding Rodney in order to keep the peace which meant he saw even less of John.

"I'm sure he will be…" Teyla was cut off by an incoming radio message.

"Major Sheppard, please report to the Control room."

"I'm on my way." John hated to leave but he needed to help coordinate things. He didn't even know if Colonel Everett was still alive. "Teyla would you stay here with Jason? I don't want to bring him to his quarters; we don't know how long it will be until the Wraith attack again."

"Of course Major. I will let nothing happen to him. Will the medical team arrive soon for the other guards?"

"Oh crap!" John tapped his earpiece. "This is Sheppard; I need a medical team in the Control Chair room. We have four men down."

After a brief burst of static, Carson's voice replied "I'll send a team as soon as possible Major. Is Jason ok?"

"He's fine doc. In fact he's taking a nap at the moment, he needs it."

"Aye, I imagine things would've been a lot worse if he wasn't here."


	10. First Blood Part 2

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

**A/N: ****Spoiler****s for Eps 1.1****8****the****Gift, ****1.1****9****Siege pt 1, and 1.20 Siege pt 2**

**A/N 2: ****My apologies for the lateness of this update. Work has been crazy and for some reason this chapter was a real pain to write.**

**Chapter ****10**** First Blood Part ****2**

**October 7****th****, 19****97****Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy **

John walked out of the transporter and was eating a chocolate Power Bar as he entered the control room. "How bad is it?" He asked without preamble. Those not familiar with John could have easily mistaken his appearance. Despite all evidence to the contrary, John was not relaxed or calm. He was practically vibrating with tension because he knew it was just a matter of time until the Wraith attacked again.

It was only after he asked the question did he realize that the Colonel was not in the room. Given the man's apparent need to stick his fingers into everything, John would've expected him to be in the control room as soon as the battle was over.

Elizabeth was the first to speak. "We have 14 men missing but all of the Wraith in the city have been eliminated."

Rodney added in his own report about the city itself. "The city took very little actual damage the point defense systems were able to minimize any damage from the fighters with the rail guns picking up the slack."

John smiled slightly and sat down in one of the few available chairs. Rodney's report was as close to a compliment of Jason as the man would likely make.

"How bad are the casualties?" It was the piece of information that John was dreading. It didn't matter that the Colonel was in charge, these were still his people and his responsibility.

"We have 17 men in the infirmary, including Lieutenant Ford. Most are recovering from stunner blasts. For once the Wraith tactics were an advantage. They didn't want to risk their food supply."

While Elizabeth was explaining the situation, John stood and moved over to the display of the city. He trusted Elizabeth but he wanted to see for himself that there truly were no Wraith in the city.

"What about the ZPM? How are the power levels holding up?" Everyone looked at John in surprise. It was something that none of them had considered but really should have. After all, without the ZPM the fight could have gone very differently. Yes the rail guns had performed well, but they were nowhere near as effective as the point defense system incorporated into the city.

Rodney tapped a few keys on his console to bring up the current status of the ZPM. He frowned after reviewing the results and even reran the diagnostic before reporting the results. "The power levels are virtually unchanged. They've barely dropped below 60 but I don't know how that is possible. All our simulations show that the power drain should've been far more significant."

Elizabeth looked at Rodney silently while considering her response. "If we get through this, you can figure out why the power drain was so small but for now let's just be thankful for anything going our way."

For a moment it looked like Rodney was going to argue the point but then the sight of the Wraith ships in orbit above the city came to mind. Yes, Elizabeth was right they needed any help they could get.

"John, Colonel Everett is in the infirmary. He'd like to speak with you." Elizabeth was subdued. There were so many people lost and they still had two Hive ships orbiting above them.

John nodded. They shared some more information on the overall status of the city and before he left for the infirmary. "After I speak with the Colonel, I will radio you with team assignments. We don't know how long we have until the Wraith attack again."

"John wait! How is Jason? I haven't heard anything from him or Teyla."

Jason considered his answer for a second before remembering that Jason's secret was long since blown to the inhabitants of Atlantis. "They're both ok. Jason used some pretty heavy duty magic defending himself from the Wraith. It was all over by the time that Teyla or I got there. When I left, he was sleeping and Teyla was watching over him."

Elizabeth couldn't help the small smile at the image of Jason asleep being guarded by Teyla. It was not something that most 17 year old boys would be comfortable with but then Jason didn't know it was going on either. "Will he be ok for when the Wraith attack again?"

John just shrugged his shoulders. "He doesn't really have a choice. That's why I left him in the Chair room; we don't have to worry about him getting there from his quarters if the Wraith decide to try a quick strike."

There was more, Elizabeth could see that but she didn't want to press. Whatever John was concerned about was related directly to Jason somehow. As long as it didn't endanger the city, she would let it go but keep a watch for any signs that she needed to intervene.

John left quickly not wanting to discuss his concerns about Jason. There had been lots of times when he had helped Jason train or watched while he was training with James or one of the other Unspeakables, but he'd never seen Jason radiate power the way he had when fighting the Wraith.

During his walk to the infirmary John was mentally preparing himself for whatever tongue-lashing the Colonel felt he deserved. It was still a mystery as to why the man was so antagonistic towards both Elizabeth and himself but then there hadn't really been a lot of time to get acquainted either.

Though he would've preferred to stop and see how Ford was doing first, John knew he had no choice but to speak with the Colonel. He hoped it would be like pulling off a band-aid, it would hurt like hell but it's always best to get it over with quickly.

The man lying on the bed in front of him was not as he remembered. When Elizabeth didn't say anything about injuries, he'd just assumed that Everett had been stunned like most of the other men. Instead, a Wraith had clearly been feeding on him. Whereas before he'd been in strong physical condition, now he was withered, not unlike Colonel Sumner had been only it wasn't quite as advanced.

"Colonel, I can report that all of the Wraith in the city have been eliminated." John reported after snapping off a crisp salute.

Everett's hand was shaking, the result of palsy brought on by the rapid aging. He wanted to rail against the world for robbing him of so many years but it did give him some unexpected insight into the Major and Colonel Sumner's last moments. "I want to apologize Major. I misjudged you; Colonel Sumner was a close friend of mine."

Suddenly it all became clear for John. Everett had blamed him for Sumner's death and Elizabeth had probably been included in that as the civilian leader no doubt recklessly throwing the soldiers into harm's way. "You don't need to apologize Colonel."

"Yes I do. I think I know how he felt. He wouldn't have wanted to live this way."

It didn't matter to John. He'd told himself the same words over and over again but they still didn't bring him any comfort. Regardless of the reasons, he'd killed one of his own men. It wasn't something he would ever forget.

"I only wish you'd been there to do the same for me." Everett continued heedless of John's swirling thoughts.

"Colonel?" John wasn't sure how to take that.

"I've said what I have to say Major. They're shipping me out with the first batch of injured if we survive until the Daedelus arrives."

"Yes sir, we will still be here when the Daedelus finally arrives. I haven't fought this long to lose now." There was more confidence in his voice than he really felt but he was saying it for more than just the Colonel. The others in the infirmary, the soldiers as well as the civilians needed to know that he felt that this battle could be won.

In a rare show of semi-sentimentality from the Colonel, he replied "I know you will do everything in your power to see that the city and the people within survive."

After the Colonel dismissed him, John went over to speak with Ford. Carson was there running through another checkup and from what John could see, his Lieutenant would be just fine. He spent a few minutes catching up with Ford and confirming with Carson that he would be ok to leave the infirmary. After losing 14 men, they were going to need every able body if there were going to hold out against the next assault whenever it would come.

On leaving the infirmary, John headed over to the cafeteria to grab some food. He figured that Jason and Teyla could use it as much as he did. The situation being what it was, the only thing available was sandwiches and other food that could be taken to go. Still John took a few minutes to chat with the few people that were sitting in the cafeteria taking a well deserved break.

John left the cafeteria a few minutes later, loaded down with sandwiches and bottles of water. While he was walking he radioed in team assignments to Elizabeth so that the patrols could be setup and the rail guns could be manned at all times.

"Teyla, I thought you might be hungry." John held out a sandwich and a bottle of water to her once he entered the Chair room.

"Yes, thank you Major." Teyla took the sandwich and opened the water first taking a long drink. "Should we wake Jason? He's been asleep since you left."

After a moment of consideration John nodded his head. As much as he wanted to let his brother sleep some more they had no idea how long it would be until the Wraith attacked again and Jason would need something to eat.

Teyla watched with a smile as John unscrewed the top of a water bottle and poured it over Jason's head.

Both laughed when Jason sat straight up spluttering incoherently.

John took another bite of his sandwich but Teyla continued to look at Jason. There was something that appeared off. Her head tilted as she observed him for a moment trying to pinpoint what it was that was bothering her.

Jason was oblivious to her scrutiny and grabbed one of the proffered sandwiches from John.

"You didn't think to bring a towel with you did you John?" Asked Jason around a mouthful of sandwich. He was trying to look annoyed but there was a small smile on his face that contradicted his tone.

Water, that was the problem Teyla realized. For some reason, Jason's face did not appear to be wet. "Jason why is your face not wet?" She asked abruptly taking both Sheppards by surprise.

"What do you mean? I must have wiped it off." It took a moment for Jason to realize what Teyla was getting at. The glamour that he had been using for the last couple of weeks was great for keeping people from knowing he wasn't sleeping but it didn't work too well when someone threw water in his face. The last thing he needed was for John to come down on him.

The damage had been done already though. John was looking at Jason now too. He hadn't noticed it until Teyla pointed it out but now that she had. Now the question was how long had Jason been using it and why was he using it. "Take it off!"

"John?"

"Major?"

Jason and Teyla spoke at the same time. The order was unmistakable but that didn't mean that Jason wasn't going to put it off.

"Take the illusion or whatever you want to call it off now Jason!" John had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He knew that there was no way that he was going to be happy with what he was about to see.

Jason opened his mouth to say something then closed it again. John could be like a dog with a bone. Sometime it was best to just give in and take whatever punsihment was coming his way. At the same time there was a part of Jason that wanted to John's reaction. After all, John had been pretty much ignoring Jason for weeks now. "Fine!"

John and Teyla watched while Jason closed his eyes for a second. Jason's face seemed to blur for just a moment before it settled into his real appearance. Jason's skin lost some of its color. It wasn't sickly looking but it was a great deal less healthy looking than his normal light tan. His eyes were slightly sunken and there were bags under them. All together, Jason looked like someone who was overworked and exhausted.

"Jesus Jason why didn't you say something?"

"Who was I supposed to tell? You? You've been all but ignoring me for weeks now and it isn't like there is someone my age that I could talk to." Jason snapped.

It was John's turn to be speechless. There was another flash of guilt but he tried to argue none the less. "What about Elizabeth or Dr. Heightmeyer?"

"You want me to talk to a shrink when I'm not supposed to talk about certain things with anyone other than you or Elizabeth? That's nice John, great plan." Jason paused to let it sink in.

"I can't hold your hand all the time. I have responsibilities here that demand my time." As soon as the words were out of his mouth John wished he could take them back. He didn't mean it and John knew that Jason wasn't looking for him to hold his hand. In fact, he had a very valid point, other than John or Elizabeth there wasn't anyone that Jason could totally confide in.

"That doesn't seem to stop Teyla though does it? She's a member of your team and leader of her people. Somehow she still manages to find the time to keep up with the goings on of her people."

Teyla was looking back and forth between the brothers and feeling distinctly uncomfortable. Both of their arguments had merit but she felt that John had failed Jason. As his only family, John should make time for Jason.

Whatever John was going to say was forgotten. All three were thrown from the feet when the city was rocked by explosions.

"John, the Wraith Hive ships have opened fire!" Elizabeth called out over the radio.

The argument was dropped and Jason practically leapt into the Control Chair. Immediately, it reclined and the lit up with a pale blue light. Across the city, interceptors opened fire. Bolts of plasma arced up and impacted against the incoming Wraith bombardment. Blue-green fire spread across the sky flaring brighter than the noon-day sun.

"Teyla stay here and guard the Jason. I will send a team to back you up." John had already picked up his P90 and was moving to leave the room. "Elizabeth are there any more fighters coming in?"

"Not yet but three cruisers appear to be approaching the city."

John's voice faded once he moved out into the corridor.

In the space above Atlantis, Dart fighters once again poured out of the hive ships. At the same time, the Hive ships maintained their bombardment of the city, engaging the interceptors and reducing the defensive fire targeting the fighters. Behind the fighters, a trio of cruisers were descending towards the city and adding their own fire to the bombardment.

Teyla watched with growing concern as Jason's body once again began to glow with an eerie blue-green light. She noted that his face was drawn up in a frown of concentration and there was sweat beginning to bead on his forehead. It was apparent that the use of the Control Chair to actively defend the city from attack required more than just mere concentration.

John was standing on a balcony with his squad looking up at the light show taking place above them. "Rail gun teams, you're going to have to use your radar to track hostiles. Visual tracking with the enemy bombardment is not practical." The instructions may have seemed like common sense but in tense situations, but it was instinct to try and track targets visually.

John and the other soldiers were actually growing used to the bursts of plasma rising up from the city when Jason threw something new into the mix.

Two of the cruisers had increased their speed and were now in effective weapons range. The blasts from their weapons were aimed not at the central spire but the different piers surrounding the main portion of the city. Like the Hive ships, the majority of their fire was intercepted before it could do any damage.

Multiple plasma cannons began to hum ominously as Jason routed power to them from the ZPM. Deep forest green beams of plasma drew a line from the cannons to the cruisers.

"What the fuck?!" Though John knew about the plasma cannons no one had actually seen them fired. He felt his heart sink when it looked like the beams did no damage. In the time it took for doubt to begin, the beams overloaded the minimal shielding around the ships and punched holes clean through the superstructure of each ship.

The third cruiser which had hung back was the only one not struck by a cannon beam. The other two hung in the air speared by the beams before detonating in blinding flashes.

With the reduction of incoming fire, Jason was able to supplement the rail guns with a portion of the point defense system. Once the fighters were in range, the rail guns opened up stitching the night sky with their fire. Dart fighters swerved and dodged avoiding most of the defensive fire for a few critical seconds.

Unlike the first attack, the Darts were not focused on damaging the city. This time they took advantage of their remaining seconds to beam teams of Wraith into the city.

"Major we are reading Wraith life signs all over the city."

"Ok Elizabeth do it like we did before. Direct my team to the nearest group then do the same for the other defense teams."

In the Control Room Elizabeth began to coordinate the teams.

"Captain Jensen, you have an incoming Wraith, they are approaching you from the north corridor."

The radio clicked and then came the gravelly voice of the young captain. "How many ma'am?"

"The sensors are picking 13 Wraith approaching you position."

There was no response. The radio click and she waited for a response but the only sound that came through was that of gunfire and Wraith stunners. There were garbled orders being given but none of those in the control room could make out what exactly was going on.

An especially bright explosion outside the tower broke them from their stupor. After clearing her throat, Elizabeth looked at the map of the city and began relaying more information to the defense teams.

She and the others couldn't help but listen to each team for a few moments as they battled the Wraith. It was a morbid fascination that couldn't be denied.

"Dr. Weir there are a number of groups that are headed towards the Chair room." For the first time since the attacks had started on Atlantis, Elizabeth saw Dr. Zelenka's veneer of calmness and control began to break. Clearly he was as disturbed as the rest of them were with the number of Wraith in the city.

She quickly focused on the areas that he had highlighted on the map of the city. "Major Sheppard we have Wraith approaching the Chair room."

She heard only gun fire and yelling. Elizabeth was beginning to question the wisdom of leaving the channels open. It was becoming tortuous to listen to the men fighting desperately to hold off the Wraith soldiers. "John, I repeat we have Wraith approaching the Chair room."

"Can't talk now, I'm a little busy."

Zelenka was looking at the map. "He won't be able to help. There are more Wraith approaching his position."

"Is there anyone else who can help?" It was critical that Jason and the Chair remain safe. Both were critical to the security and defense of Atlantis. They should have placed another team there immediately; instead they'd been taken by surprise when the Wraith attacked again so quickly.

"No, all the teams are pinned down." Zelenka also knew the importance of the Chair room.

"Teyla, you have multiple groups of Wraith incoming."

Teyla was a little unnerved. There was only her and Jason and he was unavailable to fight unless they wanted to leave the defense of the city to the weapons brought from Earth. It was also obvious that Elizabeth was nervous as well based on her tone of voice. "I understand Dr. Weir. I will do the best that I can until help arrives."

"Teyla…" Elizabeth paused debating whether she should give this information or not. Ultimately, she felt that Teyla needed to know what her situation was. "Teyla, Major Sheppard and the other defense teams are currently pinned down and may not be able to arrive for some time."

"I understand. I will do my best."

Elizabeth couldn't help the small smile that formed. Teyla was always a pragmatist. It would be impossible to grow up with the threat of the Wraith hanging over you and not be. Even now faced with the threat of facing the Wraith on her own she kept her calm and prepared to do what she could to give the others time.

Those in the Control Room watched the sensor map of Atlantis. They cheered silently every time a red flashing dot disappeared indicating that another Wraith had died and hoped for the best when a white dot dimmed. So far it looked like the teams were holding their own. Hopefully the Wraith penchant for using stunners would mean that if the battle was won there would be few casualties.

Elizabeth and Zelenka along with everyone else held their breath when the first Wraith reached the Chair room. The stunner blasts were clearly heard drowning out the minimal gunfire put down in response by Teyla.

As before, Jason broke from his trance when he heard weapon's fire. This time though he did something different. Before getting out of the chair he switched power from the weapons to the shield. In the seconds that it took for the shield to activate a number of shots from the hive ships slammed into the ocean and piers around the city rocking the great city.

Teyla was using one of the few consoles in the room as cover. Her P90 was firing in short bursts because she couldn't afford to waste any ammunition.

The Wraith were being held at bay because the doorway was the only access the room.

Jason jumped from the chair towards Teyla's position. When he landed he rolled forward dodging the incoming stunner blasts.

Teyla never took her eyes off the doorway; if she had she would have seen that Jason's eyes were still glowing with the same energy as when he was using the Chair. "Anything you can do to help…"

"Right." His eyes flashed briefly and a small dome formed over the two of them. "The shield should protect us for a while."

Jason was still considering what to do when the wall behind them exploded inward. Both Teyla and Jason were slammed to the floor by the blast. The debris and fire was absorbed by the shield but the kinetic energy was translated through.

In the moments that it took for Jason and Teyla to regain their feet, Wraith had entered the room through the doorway and the wreckage of the wall. For the moment, Jason's shield was holding but it was absorbing a lot of stunner blasts.

His palm slammed onto the floor. Lines of glowing power radiated out from each finger and zigzagged towards the Wraith in the doorway. Power surged up through the feet of the Wraith. Their bodies spasmed and smoke began to wisp out from underneath their armor. The stunners fell to the floor followed by the bodies of the 5 Wraith that continued to spasm and jerk from the residual energy.

Teyla had turned her attention to the Wraith behind them. She fired desperately now, the only thing standing between her and the Wraith was Jason's shield. Two of the Wraith fell to the bullets that streamed forth from the P90. The air within the shield became heavy with the acrid smell of burnt gunpowder.

Just when looked like the tide might be turning against the Wraith, another wall was destroyed by Wraith explosives. This time, the wall was on the opposite side of the room so Teyla and Jason were unaffected by the blast.

In desperation, Jason began throwing small balls of magic at the Wraith. They were quick and didn't take much of his strength which was good since the majority of it was being used to maintain the shield. The glowing blue-green balls of magic flew with unerring accuracy, scorching through armor, flesh and bone leaving the lifeless Wraith to collapse to the floor.

For the 2nd time that day, Jason began to lose himself letting instinct take over and subconsciously reveling in the power flowing through him. In desperation he was once again releasing all holds on his power. There was no holding back; he and Teyla would never turn back the Wraith if he tried to play it safe.

As Jason fell into the feeling of pure freedom that came from cutting loose he began to draw power away from his shield to continue his attacks. Without Jason realizing it, the shield around him contracted as it weakened. In an instant, Teyla was on the floor stunned and Jason was left to face the Wraith alone.

A second figure began to take ship around Jason. It was identical to him in almost every aspect but was composed entirely of his blue-green magic. The twin began to grow drawing on Jason's magic until it was nearly the height of the room. Massive arms swept out and grasped hold of the Wraith in front of him and smashed them into the walls.

Suddenly Jason gasped and slumped to his knees. His shield had finally shattered and he hadn't even noticed. The Wraith stunner hit him square in the back and was quickly followed by another. With a soft groan he collapsed forward onto the floor.

The Wraith were motionless. Now that Jason was down, the Wraith invaders looked around and took stock of their losses. It was unthinkable that just two individuals would be capable of harming so many. The only remaining officer ordered the remaining soldiers to take Jason and Teyla back to the south pier. The Lanteans had not yet reached that far so the Darts should still be safe.

Back in the control room Zelenka was the first to notice that the situation had changed. "Dr. Weir look!"

She turned back to the map of Atlantis but she wasn't sure what she should be looking for. There were still battles going on all over the city but it seemed like the Wraith were being pushed back. "What am I looking for?"

"I think that the Wraith have captured Teyla and Jason." He explained while pointing to the sensor map. There were two white dots that seemed to be moving along with a small group of red dots. There was no way that either one would go willingly with the Wraith so it was likely that they both had been stunned.

"Have any of our other people been taken away by the Wraith after being stunned?" Elizabeth was worried. If these Wraith had seen what Jason was capable of, they might be taking him back for interrogation. Worse, they could believe that he is a full-blown Ancient.

"No they haven't."

Before Zelenka could get any further Elizabeth told him to keep a lock on Teyla and Jason at all times. "Major Sheppard..." She waited for a moment. According to the map, his team had eliminated most of the Wraith attacking them. It seemed like forever before he answered.

"Elizabeth." His heavy breathing came through clearly over the radio. "What is your situation?" There were still sporadic bursts of gunfire in the background but it was evident that the worst of the battle was over.

"I..Major…John the Wraith have captured Jason and Teyla. They appear to be heading towards the south pier."

Luckily for those in the Control Room, John's immediate response was lost in another hail of gunfire. All in the room couldn't fail to notice that the last Wraith near John's position died at about the same time. "Ok we're on our way. Contact me if they change their direction."

John was running as fast as he could through the corridors and over staircases. He didn't even know if his squad was with him. It didn't matter if they were there or not. Jason was in trouble.

No matter how fast John ran, he was simply too far from the Wraith to catch up. His lungs were burning by the time he had reached the pier. It was just in time to see a Dart lift off and scoop up Jason and Teyla in the culling beam.

As much as he wanted to open fire on the Dart, John couldn't for fear of killing his brother and friend. "Elizabeth, a Dart just took off from the south pier I need you to keep a lock on it."

There was only one chance now. John would have to follow in a jumper. With luck the Wraith would continue their assault even though Jason had put up the shield.

Elizabeth's harried voice came back over his radio. "Major we have multiple Darts still over the city. What makes this one any different?"

John was barely listening to the response. He was already racing through the corridors with a single destination in mind. At the same time he was cursing the deactivation of the transporters. It would have been a lot quicker but the security risk was too great. When he realized that Elizabeth had asked him a question John snapped back "I just need you to keep a lock on it."

He didn't know if it was the tone of his voice or if something else had happened but all he had gotten from Elizabeth was a curt acknowledgement of his order. Normally it would have taken him at least 20 minutes to reach the jumper bay from his position on the South Pier but such was his worry and anger over the abduction of Jason that he was able to cut that time in half.

As soon as the jumper was powered up and lifting off, John activated the cloak and began to head towards the hatch to leave the central tower.

Rodney looked over at Elizabeth in surprise when he saw the flash on his laptop screen. Just as he was relaying the news that someone was taking a jumper out John's voice came through over the Control Room loud speaker. "Control patch through the information on the Dart."

"Major, it has already left the shield along with the remaining Darts."

"Where is it heading?"

There was a pause before he got any response. His jumper has just passed through the shield. It was amazing that the shield allowed ships out without compromising its integrity. Too bad the energy of the shield disrupted the city's weapons as they passed through making them ineffectual when it was activated.

John was about to bark out his request again when the data showing the flight path of the Dart fighter popped up on the main display in front of him. For just a second, he smiled with relief. For some reason the fighter had broken off from the main group and docked with the Cruiser that had briefly attacked the city rather than go to one of the Hive Ships. Now all he had to was disable the engines. Getting onto the ship would be the next problem but he needed to make sure it didn't escape first.

"Major Sheppard what are you doing? You can't hope to take on the Wraith fleet."

John knew that Elizabeth was right but he wasn't planning on attacking them directly. With luck he'd be able to cause enough confusion that he would be able to slip onto the cruiser undetected. "That fighter had Jason and Teyla. I can't leave them in the hands of the Wraith."

According to the instruments he'd be within weapons' range in less than two minutes.

"John this is a suicide mission. I know Jason is your brother, but Atlantis needs you. We can't afford to lose you too."

There was a note of desperation in her voice that John didn't recognize but he couldn't worry about it now. It had been bad enough having to kill Sumner when the Wraith were feeding on him, John didn't think he'd be able to live with himself if he left Jason to his fate.

"I can't leave him in their hands. I won't!"

Somehow the brief conversation had taken up the remaining time to target. The Wraith Cruiser was in range. The Puddle Jumper reacted instantly to his thoughts and commands. The stubby spacecraft wavered into view with the weapons pods already extended. Before the Wraith identified him as a threat, John had launched two drones. The golden missiles swerved and advanced inexorably towards the target.

The Wraith Cruiser never stood a chance. The Ancient's weapons speared the rear portion of the craft shearing through armor like butter. The two drones didn't even stop; they just kept cruising forward while behind them the engines of the ship were floating off into space.

John smiled. The first step of his plan was done. Now came the tricky part. Fighters were already swarming towards his position, a distraction was necessary if he wanted to have any chance of landing on the cruiser.

The invisible craft dodged around the swarming fighters and flew straight towards two of the hive ships. John maneuvered his ship over and then between two of the ships hoping that it would limit their fire. After taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, he uncloaked again and fired a full salvo of drones at the nearest hive ship.

The three missiles were gouging and scoring the surface of the massive vessel before it had time to identify the danger. Unfortunately, the Dart fighters were not so slow to respond.

Even as John was cloaking once again, one of the Dart fighters got off a lucky shot. Sparks burst from one of the control panels and smoke rose obscuring his vision for a second before clearing. "Fuck!" The cloak was offline or at least John thought it was since the fighters were still firing at him.

With his ship visible, the two Hive ships opened fire. The energy weapons capable of devastating a planet's surface blasted through unlucky fighters that happened to be in the way. Stray shots even slammed into the Hive ships. The massive weapons left gaping holes and scorched armor in their wake.

John was flying on pure instinct now. He wasn't thinking about getting to the Cruiser, destroying fighters or anything else, his entire being was focused on evading all the incoming fire from the two Hive ships and Darts.

Explosions rocked the jumper when nearby fighters were destroyed in the cross fire from the Hive ships. The crew compartment was filling with smoke as another panel blew out. John had just managed to maneuver out of the direct line of fire but couldn't avoid the incoming shot entirely. At this rate, he was going to be lucky if he even made it back to the cruiser in one piece.

Swearing again when he saw a formation of Darts coming towards him, John pulled back on the flight controls sharply. The jumper curved upwards sharply and accelerated until John had turned 180 degrees and was shooting back towards the Hive ships.

Both groups of fighters immediately gave chase. Now because John wasn't having enough difficulty, the universe added a pair of Wraith Cruisers that had moved into position behind and between the two Hive ships forming a sort of square. Once in position, the Cruisers opened fire.

John drove the jumper into a tight corkscrew spin taking him below the plane of the Wraith ships. At the same time he angled his flight path to take him underneath the nearest Hive ship. The effort put the Hive ship in the path of most of the enemy fire coming from the capital ships but it didn't throw off the Darts.

Another salvo of drones launched and immediately arced up into the Hive ship. Small explosions broke out along the surface of the ship. One of the drones had punched through an opening created by the other two and ripped through internal bulkheads causing secondary explosions.

For a brief moment, John admired his work as the Hive ship started to fall out of formation. It was clearly damaged but not entirely out of the fight.

Those few seconds were all one the Dart fighters needed. Even though John had continued to make his jumper dance in between the enemy fire, all it takes is one lucky shot.

**Damaged Wraith Cruiser**

After docking with the cruiser, the Dart fighter had rematerialized Jason, Teyla and the surviving Wraith. While Jason and Teyla were being dragged to cocoon chambers to be held until they reached the meeting location with Shezz'la, both began to swim back to consciousness.

It took only a few minutes before the Wraith had finished cocooning Teyla and Jason leaving only their heads free of the sticky substance. By this time, Teyla was fully aware of her surroundings but waited until after the Wraith had left before calling out to Jason.

While she waited for Jason to wake up, the ship shuddered and alarms began blaring. Wraith began racing through the corridors shortly thereafter. If the situation had been different, Teyla would have grinned at their obvious distress. As it was, she didn't notice that the corridor began to grow brighter, filled with a blue-green light. Had she been able, Teyla would have seen that Jason was awake but his face lacked its normal good-natured expression. In its place was a cold expressionless mask.

On waking Jason was still lost deep in the surging power flowing within him. His only thoughts were to escape and punish the Wraith for daring to harm him and Teyla. Reaching out with his magic, Jason found that Teyla was right next to him, contained in the same manner as he was. Unable to move, Jason poured his power into the fibers that made up the cocoons.

Teyla had just noticed the light filling the corridor when the she was wrapped in the Jason's magic. For just a second, she felt warm and connected to Jason in some way but then it faded and took her prison with it.

Before she could step out of the alcove, Jason emerged and stood in the middle of the corridor. Wraith that had been running past skidded to a halt when they saw that both of their prisoners had somehow escaped.

"Jason!" It was already too late though, the Wraith knew they were free. It was only chance that none of those present had weapons with them. In desperation, she settled into a fighting stance but given the numbers of Wraith that were already present, it was a futile gesture at best.

There was no response from Jason. Instead he simply studied the Wraith before him. These were the same beings that had forced the Ancients to flee the galaxy and had killed billions of people in the process. With his power roaring in his veins, Jason wanted to kill the Wraith in the most painful way possible. There was no elegance to his attack no comic book imagery just pure unrelenting power.

Jason clasped his fists together and thrust them forward. His magic sparked and flowed over his fists before arced out in a broad, jagged, blindingly bright beam. It seemed to have a mind of its own, arcing from one Wraith to the next leaving charred bodies in its wake.

Teyla could not risk turning to see what Jason had done but whatever it was had given the Wraith approaching her pause.

One of the Wraith facing Teyla was furious. His face contorted with rage when he spat out "I will rip the life from your bodies. You will scream for hours before I'm done!"

At the sound of the Wraith's voice, Jason spun around while ordering Teyla. "Down!"

Reacting on instinct, Teyla dropped to the floor just in time.

The arc of magical lightning never stopped, it simply scorched the walls leaving a trail of exposed wiring and controls.

Teyla watched in awe as the beam of energy touched the head of the lead Wraith. His body stiffened and convulsed and then smoke started rise from his skin as he was cooked from the inside out. Before his body had even hit the floor, the beam had jumped to the next Wraith.

With no weapons, all Teyla could do is watch and hope that Jason could hold out long enough for help to arrive. Suddenly, one of the stunners flew from the dead hands of a fallen Wraith to her hands. Unwilling to leave the Wraith to Jason alone, she made good use of the weapon Jason had so kindly provided her.

**Puddle Jumper**

John was just beginning a sharp bank to the left when the jumper went into a tight horizontal spin. There was only a second for John to notice that the right engine had been blown away before he was thrown from his seat. Even with the inertial dampeners, the force of the spin had John pinned against the wall of the jumper.

The jumper wasn't able to compensate for the loss of one its engines. The damage already taken had knocked key systems off-line.

Outside the jumper Darts were trying to get a clean shot but the ship was moving so erratically that it was virtually impossible. Fire from the Hive ship and fighters increased dramatically when the out of control jumper veered towards the large vessel.

Inside John was still trapped, unable to move. In the main window he could see the Hive ship grow larger every time the ship spun around. Just when had given up any hope of rescuing Jason and Teyla or even surviving, he disappeared in a flash of white light.

At the same time, a stray shot from a Dart caught the rear of the jumper. The damage triggered an overload in the few functional systems. The remaining drones launched, zooming away from the ship in search of targets. Four of the drones shot upward and into the damaged Hive ship. The explosions were too much for the great ship. Gouts of flame started to burst out all across of the ship. Slowly, the Hive ship broke apart and began to fall into the atmosphere.

The remaining drones took out a handful of Dart fighters.

**Earth Ship Daedelus**

John appeared in a flash of white light on the bridge of the Daedelus, the second ship to be built from the technology gained by the Stargate program. He was looking around confused, unsure of what exactly he was seeing. It was only the voice of the captain that brought him back to his present situation.

"Major Sheppard, welcome aboard the Daedelus." The strong deep voice was coming from a man sitting in the central chair. Even seated, John could tell that he was tall and though he looked to be in his late 40s it was obvious that he was in good shape.

John opened his mouth only to close it a second later. "What…how?"

"I'm Colonel Steven Caldwell, commander of the Daedelus and to answer your question, we were able to push the engines to shorten the journey." Explained Caldwell.

John turned and looked to see the rail guns firing off the bow of the Daedelus targeting the remaining Dart fighters. "Sir, we have people on the damaged Wraith cruiser is there any way to get them out the same way you rescued me? Thanks for that by the way."

Caldwell just smirked at John before answering "Major, we have more important priorities at the moment, the least of which is getting the ZPM to Atlantis."

"Sir, one of the people on that ship is the only one capable of using the Control Chair. We can't let the Wraith keep him." John argued, thankful that the mention of the ZPM had given him a legitimate reason for rescuing Jason.

"Regardless major, it won't do any good to rescue them if that Hive ship destroys us in the process." The argument was settled at least in Caldwell's mind so he turned his attention back to the Wraith. "Collins, arm two Mark IX warheads and get me a firing solution on that Hive ship."

John watched the battle taking place around the ship. It was like a movie. In space the rail guns appeared similar to the lasers from Star Wars. The Dart fighters were swarming around the ship, some of them colliding with the shield and exploding in momentary flashes of light; others were shot down by the rail guns but most survived to take another pass at the Earth ship.

"Weapons armed and ready sir."

Caldwell gave the order to fire. Two missiles launched from the forward facing missile tubes and began to burn towards the Hive ship. Neither missile made it far. The first was shot down and the second was destroyed when a fighter collided with it.

John muttered "We never even got close." They were going to have to come up with a different plan if they wanted to destroy the Hive ship. "Colonel didn't the Asgard give us any weapons?"

"No, they didn't want us armed with anything that could be a threat to them." Caldwell turned back to his tactical officer. "Arm two more Mark IXs."

"It's just a waste of time Colonel." The two argued quickly back and forth until they came up with the idea to use the Asgard transporter to beam a warhead directly onto the Hive ship. Though it took some convincing to get Hermiod, their Asgard advisor to make the changes to the security protocols, eventually a Mark IX nuclear warhead was beamed into the bowels of the only remaining Hive ship.

The ensuing explosion erased the Hive ship from existence. The massive flare of light temporarily blinded the bridge staff.

"Sir, all but one of the remaining Cruisers appears to be retreating." Even as Collins reported the latest development, a hyperspace window opened and the Wraith fleet disappeared. The only ships still in Atlantis space were the Dart fighters and the damaged Wraith cruiser.

The fighters pulled back and seemed to cluster around the damaged cruiser.

John turned to Collins and asked "What are they doing? The shield is up around Atlantis so they won't be able to break through."

"Unknown Major but it appears that they are pulling back into a defensive position. Maybe they hope to protect the cruiser until the engines can be repaired."

"Major how were you able to raise the shield in the first place?"

"I promise you all the answers you have clearance for but we still need to rescue my people before something happens to that Cruiser."

Caldwell acquiesced. "Novak I need you to see if you can get a lock on any human life signs in the damaged Wraith cruiser."

Without realizing it, John held his breath until another voice came back over the loud speaker. A female voice, one that presumably belonged to Novak came back. "Colonel we are picking up two life signs other than the Wraith. One is human; the other is Ancient according to Hermiod."

John exhaled softly. "Jason..." He whispered softly.

"Transport both to the bridge." After tapping his radio earpiece to end the connection, Caldwell turned his attention back to John. "I assume Major that there is a reason for one of your people to show up as an Ancient."

John was saved from answering that question by a flash of white light near the center of the bridge. Two figures materialized in the middle of the light. One was crouching and facing away from John towards the front of the bridge. The second was facing John. He recognized them immediately and breathed a sigh of relief, Teyla and Jason were safe.

Unfortunately, Teyla and Jason didn't realize that they were safe.

Teyla continued to fire stunner blasts before she understood that she was no longer on the Wraith ship. Thankfully, the blasts themselves cause virtually no physical damage so the bridge was undamaged from her assault.

The same could not be said for Jason. He was facing towards John when he appeared. Once the light from the Asgard beam had dissipated, like Teyla, Jason continued to attack. The magical lightning he'd been using to destroy the Wraith reached out searching for targets.

"Jason!" John shouted even as he dove out of the way. From his new position on the floor, John could see Jason's eyes glowing with power. Whatever was going on, his little brother was losing control.

Consoles and monitors exploded in showers of sparks and smoke when they were touched by the lightning. If Jason kept this up, he might damage the shields or another critical system.

So John did the only thing he could. He coiled his legs beneath him and leapt at Jason.

John's arms wrapped around Jason's waist as they collided and his greater size pulled Jason to the floor.

"Jason enough, you're safe!" John was trying to break through to his brother.

Jason spun as he fell landing on all fours but now he could see cruiser and fighters still hanging in space above the planet. "No, the Wraith are still here. I won't allow them to threaten Atlantis."

The hollow quality to Jason's voice sent a chill down John's spine.

Jason's hands started to pulse, send waves of magic out and through the ship. At the same time, he, John and Teyla were surrounded by a glowing nimbus of the same energy.

Undamaged controls and lights began to flicker while the pulsing from Jason's hands grew in frequency and intensity.

"Commander, this is Novak we are reading a massive drain on all our reactors. Something is drawing power away from almost every system."

Caldwell's eyes shifted to Jason. There was no doubt that whoever this boy was; he was the one endangering his ship. "Can we stop the power drain?"

"I'll try commander." Novak was the chief engineer but she wouldn't commit to anything unless she could deliver.

Caldwell broke the connection only to issue another order "I need security on the bridge."

John heard the order and wanted to glare at the man but he was still trying to break Jason from whatever trance he'd slipped into. Since his hands had started pulsing, John had been unable to move him at all.

Suddenly a strange somewhat high pitched voice came over the loudspeaker. "Commander Caldwell I am picking up disturbing readings near the remaining Wraith forces."

John and everyone else looked up expecting to see some kind of Wraith weapon or reinforcements. Instead what they saw was a small whirlpool of light and matter. Nearby fighters were being pulled into the whirlpool and crushed into nothingness. The cruiser and remaining fighters appeared to be moving slowly towards the whirlpool as well.

"I see it Hermiod. What am I looking at?" Though his voice was calm and confident, Caldwell was shaken by what he was seeing.

"It is a micro-singularity. I can only theorize that the energy from our reactors is being used to create and sustain it."

The rear portion of the cruiser had just disappeared; the resulting damage destroyed the rest of the cruiser.

"Fuck!" His brother had just created a mini-black hole. "Jason, stop!"

Teyla now had moved closer to the brothers and was also urging Jason to cease.

The sound of running feet signaled the arrival of the security team. "Sergeant take the boy into custody, use whatever force you deem necessary."

Deep down, Jason knew that John and Teyla would not put him into danger. So if they were asking him to stop, the Wraith must no longer be a threat. "John?" Jason's eyes blinked and they returned to their normal color for a moment.

Without power, the singularity began to collapse in on itself.

The security team tried to approach Jason but there were unable to because of the energy field that was still surrounding him. As one, the four men pulled their side arms and took aim.

As if he could sense the danger, Jason pulled as much power as he could. The energy field flashed brightly before disappearing along with John, Jason and Teyla.

In the gate room of Atlantis, there was a deafening boom that shook the central tower. John, Teyla, and Jason appeared in the center of the room.

John didn't even care where they were he was cradling Jason's head. "Come on stay with me."

Jason was barely able to keep his eyes open. He felt so tired. "John?" He asked weakly, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I'm here Jason, I'm not going anywhere."

Eyes closed once again, Jason asked "What's happening to me?"

It was impossible to miss the note of fear in Jason's voice. John only wished he had an answer for his brother.


	11. Phase Change

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

**A/N: ****This is a short transition chapter. The next one will be the normal length again.**

**Chapter ****11: ****Phase Change**

**October 7****th****, Atlantis Pegasus Galaxy**

"Elizabeth!" John called loudly hoping that she was in the Control Room. They needed a medical team fast and he was actually afraid to leave Jason, he seemed so weak. The last time he'd seen Jason like this was just after the invasion of London when they'd lost their parents.

Elizabeth came rushing down the stairs. She was followed by Rodney and a pair of marines that had been stationed in the Control Room. "John? John, what happened? How did you survive?" When the jumper disappeared from the city's sensors everyone assumed that John had been killed.

"Elizabeth, I need a medical team here now! There's something wrong with Jason."

Elizabeth was going to point out that it could take some time given the current situation but there was something in John's eyes that told her this was a priority. There was a pained and worried look in his eyes that was disconcerting coming from the normally stalwart man. She only hoped that John had more reasons that the fact that Jason was his brother. "Carson, we need a medical team in the gate room, priority one."

There was a brief pause before Carson responded. While she waited she began to notice why John was so concerned. Jason was unusually pale and his breathing appeared to be slow and labored. In the quiet of the gate room she could even hear his breathing rattling in his chest. Not wanting to be caught staring, she examined Teyla as well. The Athosian woman seemed to be in good condition other than some minor cuts and bruises.

"We are on the way. What is the situation?" Carson finally responded.

"It's Jason. He's unconscious and his breathing is labored." She'd spent enough time with Carson to learn the rudiments of common problems even if she couldn't identify the cause or solution.

"We'll be there shortly."

"John, what happened up there?" Elizabeth had moved so that now she was kneeling next to Teyla across from John. She sent a relieved smile towards Teyla to let the woman know that she was happy for her safe return.

"Yes how did you survive? We saw the jumper destroyed." Rodney added from his position a few feet away. The man had been standing there, separating himself from the group once he realized who was with John. The circumstances though were enough for him to move closer and accept the role that Jason filled in John's life. Because though he would never admit it to John, seeing one of his closest friends die had almost been too much for him.

It wasn't that he minded their questions but John wasn't in the mood to get into them right now. At least not until Carson had a chance to look over Jason. So he chose to ignore them and spent his time focused on Jason's well-being.

"Perhaps this can wait until we know more about Jason's condition." Teyla said reasonably. Like John she was worried for Jason, he had saved her from the Wraith and she owed him a great debt.

Both Elizabeth and Rodney had the grace to look slightly embarrassed when they realized how insensitive they were being. With the Wraith fleet gone, the city was not under immediate threat so answers could wait for the time being.

"He looks so pale." Elizabeth said softly. In fact, Jason looked very little like the young man she had seen so recently.

Neither John nor Teyla explained that Jason's condition wasn't just from his recent battle with the Wraith. Things were going to be difficult enough with Caldwell; they didn't want Jason to appear to be mentally unstable as well.

Before anything else was said, Carson and his team rushed into the room. Teyla, Elizabeth and Rodney quickly moved away from Jason to give Carson room, but John refused to move from his position by Jason's head.

As much as he was able to, Carson worked around John recognizing how worried the man was but eventually he had no choice. "Major I understand you're worried but I need to examine him and you are in the way."

"Carson…" John began only to be stopped by a reassuring hand on his arm. It was Teyla. Reluctantly, he let himself be pulled away but he refused to go more than a few feet.

Elizabeth smiled at the sight. There were very few people in Atlantis that could convince John to do anything he didn't want to, obviously Teyla was one of those people.

After shooting an appreciative look at Teyla, Carson quickly finished his examination. Two of his medical team gently moved Jason onto the stretcher so he could be brought to the infirmary. "I can't find any obvious injuries but his breathing is labored and his heartbeat is somewhat erratic. What happened on the Wraith ship?"

Everyone but Rodney and the Marines followed Carson and his team. Rodney was continuing to work on overriding the Control Chair protocols so that he could lower the shield. Since the Chair had been used to raise the shield, the interface that Rodney had used during the storm wasn't working.

Elizabeth listened as Teyla described what she remembered of the battle that took place in Atlantis and as well as their time on the Wraith cruiser.

Even John was a little surprised by the methods that Jason had used when defending himself from the Wraith. Not that he felt any sympathy for the Wraith; they deserved everything that Jason did and more. It was just a little more brutal and less flashy but then it was Jason's first real taste of combat.

John took over the story once Teyla mentioned disappearing in a flash of white light. He described the damage done to the Daedelus as well as the Jason's subsequent attack on the Wraith cruiser.

By this time, they had reached the infirmary and Carson was conducting scans of Jason after he had hooked a nasal cannula up to assist with his breathing. If necessary they would hook him up to a ventilator but the situation wasn't that bad yet.

"Major is there anything else that may have contributed to his condition?" He wouldn't have the results of the tests he'd run for some time so wanted to get as much background information as possible.

John ran through everything again his mind, replaying conversations and actions. "Yeah there is; the tech who was manning the scanners on the Daedelus said Jason was showing up as an Ancient." John stopped there, reluctant to share the last piece of information. He'd been glad when Teyla hadn't mentioned anything but now he was thinking it was going to come out anyway.

Carson ordered a genetic scan of Jason. It was possible that his magic had affected the readings on the Daedelus but he didn't want to rule anything out until he knew more. "Is that it Major?"

"Ahh…" John delayed but finally gave in a couple of seconds later. "Yeah he was kind of out of it, didn't seem like he was totally in control."

Elizabeth jumped in with a concern "Do you mean like when Teyla was possessed by the Wraith?" She shot Teyla an apologetic look for bringing up the incident but if the Wraith could possess Jason he would be able to do a lot of damage before anyone could do anything.

John was saved from answering by Teyla. "No I do not think so. On the Wraith cruiser it was like he was simply reacting on instinct. I have seen it among my people when they are in a fight they will stop thinking and just let their body take over."

"Teyla's right, on the Daedelus, he didn't realize where he was at first. It was only after he saw the Wraith cruiser and Darts that he created a black hole."

Elizabeth and Carson just stared slack-jawed at John. "Jason created a black hole?"

"Yeah." John said slowly and a bit sheepishly before explaining. "Somehow he tapped into the Daedelus' power supply and siphoned it off to do whatever it was he did. Caldwell's security team had arrived by that point but once the cruiser was destroyed Jason seemed to come back to his normal self and then we appeared in the gate room."

Carson tried to force his mind away from the idea of Jason creating a black hole by focusing on the here and now. "It doesn't sound like a dissociative state but once he wakes up, I'd like him to speak to Dr. Heightmeyer."

"When will he wake up?" John asked from his position next to Jason's bed.

Carson sighed tiredly. Jason was not his first patient, the infirmary wasn't quite full but it was close to it. "I don't know Major. Until I have a better idea of what is wrong with him, I'm afraid I can't even guess."

Rodney's voice came over the city wide speakers. "Major Sheppard, Dr. Weir please report to the Control Room."

John was torn. He really wanted to stay with Jason but knew that he couldn't. Rodney wouldn't be paging them without good reason.

"I will stay with him Major." Offered Teyla.

"Thanks, I'll be back as soon as I can. And doc…" John was checking his gear and preparing to leave even as Carson interrupted him.

"If there is any change or new information I will contact you immediately Major."

John was already on his way out of the infirmary with Elizabeth at his side. Together they quickly made their way back to the Control Room. Elizabeth was still bursting with questions for John but she would bide her time. She would hold off until they understood more about Jason's condition.

When they arrived in the Control Room a few minutes later, they found Rodney typing feverishly on his keyboard and Zelenka was standing behind him muttering something about arrogant, bull-headed military.

The pair of scientists continued to work without even acknowledging the arrival of John and Elizabeth until Elizabeth finally cleared her throat to attract their attention. "Rodney you paged?" After the last few days, Elizabeth decided that humor was a good thing and people needed to laugh a little to relieve the tension since the Wraith arrived.

Both scientists jumped at the interruption. Rodney even blushed in embarrassment for a very brief moment before quickly covering it up. "Yes we received a message from a Commander Caldwell. He is requesting permission to land."

John turned towards Elizabeth before she could answer. "Elizabeth can I speak to you in private for a moment?"

Startled Elizabeth moved towards her office with John in tow. After the door had closed she crossed her arms and asked "Ok John what is it?" Normally she wouldn't have addressed him as John when dealing with a military matter but something about this screamed that it was personal and therefore probably about Jason.

Unlike in the infirmary or even when they were in the gate room, there was no uncertainty in John right now. The situation and his position would be explained beyond that Elizabeth could do whatever she wanted. "Caldwell already sent a security team after Jason while we were on his ship; I'm telling you now that I won't allow anything or anyone to harm him. I don't care what the repercussions are or what authority he thinks he has…"

Elizabeth held up her hand to cut John off. "John!" She said sharply before continuing in more of a normal tone. "I have no intention of giving Jason up. Even if he wasn't necessary to the defense of the city I still wouldn't do it. Whatever's happening to him isn't going to be solved by throwing him into a cell somewhere. But John I have to warn you that when we are back on Earth, because you know we are going to have to submit a report in person especially now that we have two ZPMs, that you need to make sure that a group like the NID doesn't try and take him into custody."

The NID was a group devoted to protecting the United States from alien threats much the same as Stargate Command. However they were more of a domestic group conducting research on items brought back through the Stargate. Unofficially though they'd been known to steal technology and kidnap people that may have information that could be of use to them. If they were to learn of Jason's growing abilities there was no doubt that they would want him for study.

Even though Jason would hate it, it may be necessary to contact Uncle Jack and see what protection Torchwood had to offer. While neither he nor his brother trusted Torchwood itself, Jack would never do anything to harm Jason.

"If it comes to that, I think I have some favors I can call in. The SGC isn't the only organization out there with access to advanced technology." John was actually prepared to tell Elizabeth about Torchwood, clearance be damned especially if it meant that Jason would be safe. He didn't give a shit about clearance.

Not for the first time that day, Elizabeth was floored by something John had said. There was only one group that John could be referring to that she knew of. When she'd accepted her position she had even asked why they weren't involved. Apparently it was similar to the function of the NID. The SGC would handle alien threats outside of the Earth while Torchwood would handle the situation at home.

"How do you know about Torchwood? That's an even more closely guarded secret than the Stargate?"

John just gaped at Elizabeth before grinning. He should've known that Elizabeth would be aware of Torchwood, there was very little that escaped her notice and her time in the UN would have put her in a position to learn of its existence. "The leader of the Torchwood 3 facility is our uncle. He's the reason that Jason had security clearance, our dad used to bring him into work all the time. I know that Jack would tear the NID apart if they threatened Jason."

Now Elizabeth was smiling as well. If John and Jason were close to the leader of a Torchwood facility than they would have all the resources necessary to keep Jason safe back on Earth. Meanwhile here in Atlantis, she was in charge. With the Wraith threat eliminated for the time being Commander Caldwell would have no grounds for ordering her to do anything.

"Now that we are on the same page why don't we go see what the good commander wants?"

Before Elizabeth could leave the office John put his hand on her shoulder stopping her. Surprised she turned towards John again. "Elizabeth, thank you. I don't…just thank you."

Together they walked back into the Control Room. "Rodney where do we stand on lowering the shield?"

This time Rodney hadn't been startled by their appearance. So he was prepared with his usual brilliant answers. "We're nearly there. In hindsight I think we were lucky to get the shield activated during the storm. The security protocols in place are the most advanced I've seen yet in Atlantis."

"Daedelus come in, this is Atlantis." Elizabeth called out over the radio. She had moved all the way into the Control room and was now standing next to Rodney.

There was a brief moment of static before a deep masculine voice came back. "This is Colonel Caldwell, commander of the Daedelus. Is this Dr. Weir?"

"Yes it is Colonel and thank you for your timely arrival and rescue of our people."

John stiffened slightly in preparation for the now inevitable confrontation with Caldwell.

Caldwell didn't acknowledge Elizabeth's thanks but he did use it as an excuse to start issuing his own orders. "Is Major Sheppard back on Atlantis? He and two others disappeared from the bridge of the Daedelus."

"Yes all three were safely returned."

There was a pause before Caldwell responded. Elizabeth knew her comment had thrown the Colonel or at the least given him pause. She'd spent enough years dealing with recalcitrant diplomats to recognize when someone was getting to make a play for power.

"Dr. Weir would one of those three be a teenage boy?"

John mouthed 'What are you doing?' to Elizabeth hoping to get an idea of what was going on. Right now, it just seemed like she was antagonizing the man. The last thing Jason needed was for armed guards surrounding him in the infirmary. As soon as he thought about the infirmary, John practically leapt out of the chair to head back and see how his brother was doing.

Before he could get more than a few steps from his chair, Elizabeth caught his arm and motioned for him to stay. "I assume you are referring to Jason Sheppard, Major Sheppard's younger brother."

This time there was no pause before Caldwell answered. "Dr. Weir, I want that boy placed under arrest and secured immediately. Once we have landed, I will take custody of him."

"I'm sorry Colonel but you have no authority to issue any kind of orders to me. I'm in charge of the Atlantis expedition and until Jason has demonstrated a clear and present danger to this city he will remain free."

Elizabeth knew that the man would continue to argue and she preferred to do that face-to-face rather than simply repeat the same argument once the man was in the city. "Colonel, we will radio you once the shield is down, until then Atlantis out."

"Thank you."

"We transmitted everything to Earth in that data burst. If they chose not to share some of Jason's abilities with either Colonel that is there fault. Besides, anyone who can create a black-hole even if it is a small one…"

"Black-hole? He created a black-hole? That must have been what was driving the sensors crazy?" Blurted Rodney, his face filled with excitement and worry at the same time. "Are you crazy, do you know what could've happened if he lost control? Why did you let him do that? Is he ok? Can he do it again?"

John was getting lost in all of the questions that Rodney was firing at him. They weren't even the same theme, some were curiosity, some were admonishment, and some were fear. "It was an unusual situation and I think he had to draw power from the Daedelus to do it. There were reports of massive power drains from most of the systems. Does this mean you're not going to give my brother a hard time anymore?"

Rodney swallowed a little nervously. It was clear that the only thing that would happen if he kept antagonizing Jason would be to drive his friend away. "Yeah." He said grudgingly. "Just don't expect me to babysit for him."

John perked up and smiled. "Good. All right then if no one needs me at the moment, I'm going to the infirmary to see how my brother is doing."

As he was walking out, he heard Elizabeth ask Rodney to begin organizing teams to go out and assess the damage done to the city. He couldn't help the chuckle that escaped when he heard Rodney whine about the extra work on top of bringing down the shield.

John was getting tired of walking to and from the infirmary. The only good thing that could be said of it was the fact that he himself wasn't stuck there. Immediately on entering the infirmary, he knew something was wrong. There were nurses scurrying around Jason's bed and Carson was barking orders.

Fighting every desire to demand to know what was going on, John instead moved over to stand near Teyla who was watching. "What's going on?"

Teyla looked up when she heard John approach. Her caring face was morphed into a mask of concern and worry. "Jason began to sweat heavily and then he began to convulse."

"Fuck, I should've been here." John muttered to himself.

Whatever was going on seemed to be finishing up because Carson wasn't issuing any more orders. He was listening to Jason's heartbeat through his stethoscope.

Out of the blue, Teyla said "He is a brave and strong young man, He will survive." Teyla paused and looked uncertain when she asked her question. John had never been very open about his family. Before Jason arrived she never even knew he had a brother. But they were both her friends now and she was curious. "Was your father the same way?"

For just an instant, John tensed defensively. He'd never talked about his father with anyone other than Jason since their parents died. But this was Teyla, she was his friend. She had no agenda other than learning more about him. "He was a good man. When we were growing up he worked for an organization that was responsible for protecting people from threats that the government wasn't prepared to fight."

"Then it sounds like his sons have indeed followed in his footsteps."

John smiled and ran a hand through Jason's messy hair. "I like to think he'd be proud of us. Sometimes I feel bad for Jason; he was only 11 when we lost both our parents. I tried to be there for him but sometimes…"

Teyla interrupted John. "I think your worries are groundless. It is obvious he loves you and he is not afraid to put his life in danger for others."

John was about to respond when Carson approached them.

"Doc, what's going on with Jason?"

Carson rubbed his eyes tiredly and he dearly wanted to sit down but there was still too much to do before he could rest. "I can't lie to you Major. Jason is very sick. Something is attacking his DNA, changing it to what I can only assume to be that of an Ancient."

There had been things that John had faced and overcome in his life, one of the hardest being the loss of his parents. He wasn't sure that he could survive losing Jason too. "What are you saying Carson? Is he going to die?" There was no trace of levity in John's voice. He needed to know the cold hard truth of the situation.

"I don't know Major but it is a very real possibility. As his DNA changes, his body is attacking the new cells like it would a virus. It is a race, if whatever is changing him can finish quickly enough than he stands a good chance of surviving, but the longer it goes on…" Carson trailed off. There was really no need to spell out what would happen. "We've already seen some of the physical effects. He is running a high fever and we have had to administer medications to prevent any more seizures. Thankfully the one he experienced seemed to be brought on by his fever and not by any brain damage."

The blood drained from John's face. There had to be something they could do but at the same time, something was tickling the back of his head, a situation he'd heard about before. "Is there anything we can do?"

"I'm afraid there isn't really anything that can be done. Unfortunately, he is also showing signs of being malnourished and though I can't say with 100 certainty, I can almost guarantee that his exhaustion was not just from what he did in the Chair room and on the Wraith cruiser."

Carson looked at John apologetically. "I'm sorry Major, I should've been paying more attention when he was working here in the infirmary."

As much as he would've liked to lay the blame at Carson's feet, the majority of it fell on John's shoulders as well as Jason himself. "There was nothing you could've done Carson. Jason was using his magic to fool all of us."

"Aye that sounds like something he would do. Don't get me wrong, he's been great in the infirmary but I wish he'd talk a little more. It's too bad there aren't more people a little closer to his age." Carson was glad for the change of topic.

DNA…DNA…that was it. John realized what was bothering him. Now his mind was racing. Given the change in their situation, they now had 2 ZPMs so getting back to Earth wouldn't be a problem. Already he had a plan in mind, if Jason was saved once by a transfusion from Uncle Jack than surely another one could do the same thing. Or if not, Torchwood may have something that could keep him alive that the SGC and Atlantis didn't have access to.

"I recommend we send him to the SGC, they have a larger infirmary and may have run across something that could help him."

John was up an out of his chair as soon as Carson was done. "Hold that thought doc, I need to speak with Elizabeth." He practically ran out of the room leaving a confused doctor in his wake.

It had been easy to find Elizabeth; she was still overseeing things from the Control Room. Everything was made much simpler since she already knew about Torchwood and their line of work. Once John had explained the situation to her and the past success of a transfusion with his uncle's blood, she was quick to agree to the plan. In fact, she expected that John, Carson, Rodney and herself would all be returning to Earth to debrief the SGC so it would be a simple matter to arrange the meeting.

While John was in the Control Room, Rodney announced that he had finally overridden the security controls and lowered the shield. After sending a brief message to the Daedelus, they were informed that the ship would touch down in the next 20 minutes.

Elizabeth asked John to speak with the security detail around the infirmary to make it clear that they were only to take orders from herself or John.

John was more than happy to convey that message because he also needed to talk to Carson about moving his brother. Hopefully Jason still had his communicator with him otherwise it was going to be more time consuming to get a hold of Jack. Torchwood was really the only stumbling block, assuming Carson was ok with moving Jason.

In the infirmary, John quickly brought Carson up to speed after telling the men on the security detail in no uncertain terms who they were to take orders from and who was allowed into the infirmary. It was harder to convince Carson than he expected it to be. Apparently his brother had made a bigger impression on the friendly Scot than he realized. The only way that Carson would agree to the plan was if he was there for the procedure. He didn't trust anyone else with Jason's health despite his reluctant recommendation that the SGC might be better equipped.

John left the infirmary after spending a few minutes with Jason who had woken up.

Jason's face was flushed from his fever and he wasn't coherent. "John?" His voice was weak and sounded a little lost.

"Shhh, it's going to be ok Jason. I'm here." John held his brother's hand, trying to will some of his strength to his brother. "You just have to keep fighting."

"Dad…where's dad? Why isn't he here?"

The words were filled with so much longing that John felt his eyes tear. Blinking rapidly he tried to sooth Jason. "He'll be here; you just have to hold on for him."

How do you tell your brother that his dad is dead? He couldn't do it. The thought of Jason giving up because of it was terrifying.

Jason let out a low moan. His head rolled limply back towards John and he blinked furiously trying to focus his eyes on his brother. "It hurts, why does it hurt so much?"

"Carson?!" John half choked.

In a flash Carson was back.

"He says it hurts, can you give him anything?"

"Aye…" Carson left and came back with a syringe filled with something. It didn't take long for Jason's eyes to flutter shut after Carson injected the medicine into his IV.

"He'll be out for a while Major. If you plan is going to work, we need to do it sooner rather than later."

Reluctantly John pulled away from Jason and stood. "Ok, just make sure he is ready to go."

John practically ran to Jason's quarters and began tearing them apart. He had to find that communicator. After 10 minutes of fruitless searching, John almost kicked himself. The small communicator was lying on top of a dresser next to a photo of John. With it John was confident that everything would work out. Or at least, Jason had the best chance of pulling through this now.

Unfortunately, his good fortune didn't last much longer than him leaving Jason's quarters.

"Major Sheppard please report to the conference room."

John frowned, he didn't recognize the voice but then with all the soldiers that had come through the gate to help defend Atlantis it wasn't all that surprising. He replied that he was on his way and proceeded to hurry towards the conference room. The meeting was probably with one pissed off Colonel and he wasn't really in a rush to butt heads with the man. On the other hand, there wasn't any time to waste either.

When he was near the conference room John noticed that many of the scientists and soldiers were pointedly looking away from the room. They were trying miserably to make it look like there weren't listening in on the argument that could be heard clearly even outside the room. There were times that John wished he was a simple enlisted man. It would be fun to joke about the situation with the other men but given his position, it definitely would not be appropriate.

Once he was near enough to the conference room, a wall panel pivoted allowing him access to the room. The full volume of the argument could be heard by everyone until the wall panel pivoted closed again trapping John in the room with Elizabeth and Caldwell.

The argument cut off almost immediately when they caught sight of him. Both were looking at him like he was something tasty to eat. In the case of Elizabeth he knew it was because she was counting on his support and frankly after the time they'd spent together in Atlantis, she certainly had his trust and confidence.

Caldwell on the other hand was looking at him with something reminiscent of Colonel Sumner. John knew he was going to be asked to go against Weir in the name of following orders. Fortunately, Elizabeth was in charge of Atlantis so he could legitimately refuse the order though there would still be repercussions later.

"Major Sheppard I'm ordering you to take Jason Sheppard into custody and deliver him to the Daedelus." Caldwell's voice was calm and in control. Evidently the man fully expected John to obey since he was after all his subordinate. Too bad he hadn't read John's service file or he wouldn't have bothered wasting his breath.

John looked at the Colonel apologetically. "I'm sorry sir but Dr. Weir has given express orders regarding Jason that are in conflict with what you've asked me to do."

"There is no conflict; I'm your superior officer."

"You're a superior officer." John corrected. He noticed that Elizabeth was staying quiet and sitting back while John helped enforce her position. "Dr. Weir is in charge of this expedition and as such, she ultimately has command authority."

"Major I hope you realize what you are doing. You're violating the chain of command to follow the orders of this '_civilian'_." There was no mistaking the disdain in his voice.

Elizabeth smirked. She had met very few military officers that had respect for civilian leaders, especially if they didn't have direct military service in their background. "I think that is enough Colonel. As I tried to tell you before Major Sheppard's arrival, we included all the information from this expedition in our data burst to the SGC. Including any information we had on Jason's arrival and his importance to this expedition."

Caldwell gritted his teeth, it wouldn't be proper protocol to call the woman a liar but he didn't believe that his superiors would leave out that kind of information when he was already one of the few to be aware of the true situation facing the Earth. "What importance could a teenager have to this expedition?" There were other questions he wanted answered as well, how the boy had managed to reach Atlantis being chief among them.

"Actually…" Elizabeth began reasonably, her voice taking on a slight lecturing quality while she leaned forward in her chair looking at the man intently. "Jason Sheppard may be our greatest chance at defeating the Wraith. We have discovered that the Ancients were in the process of developing a weapon to specifically target the Wraith, unfortunately to keep the research secure they used a combination of genetic sequences that only Jason Sheppard has. Without him we weren't even able to access the labs where they were conducting the final research."

John felt it was a good time to jump in and add another point that the Colonel would surely understand. "Colonel you should also know that Jason is the only one that is able to use the Control Chair to defend the city."

"And what about you Major Sheppard, I was under the impression that you could also use the Control Chair."

Elizabeth was growing frustrated with the man's attitude. One thing she hadn't missed in her time away from the UN and her duties working with the diplomatic corp was dealing with argumentative delegates. Caldwell was acting no different, being stubborn and difficult for no other reason than that he wasn't happy with the reality he faced.

"Yes Major Sheppard can use the Control Chair in Antarctica but the Ancients found that there were a limited number of Wraith that managed to incorporate some of the Ancient's DNA. The sequence that Jason carries is rare even for the Ancients and it was deemed necessary to prevent the Wraith from ever gaining control of Ancient technology."

Caldwell's voice began to rise in volume once again and John thought the man was getting ready to leap out of his chair at the slightest provocation. Instead the man placed his hands on the conference table palms down and held them there hard enough for his knuckles to turn pale. In a loud and derisive voice he snapped "That's awfully convenient. The boy who endangered my ship also just happens to be the only one with this magic gene needed to protect the city."

John actually grimaced for a second. Caldwell was more correct than he knew and John thought he might actually know about the wizarding world. Still the man would probably have been briefed about Jason if he had previous knowledge of magic. "Actually sir it is very inconvenient. My brother is the only one who is able run the city's weapons. So if something happens to him…" Which something very well may if they continued to waste time on this stupid conversation.

Reluctantly Caldwell conceded John's point. It did put the expedition in a precarious position but at least there was one person who was able to bring the city's weapons to bear on the enemy. "Fine I see your point but perhaps you could explain how it is that your brother registers as an Ancient on our sensors."

Elizabeth also looked to John for answers. She hadn't been able to join John in the infirmary when he went to talk to Carson so she just had the high level of his plan to bring Jason back to Earth.

John felt like he was back in grade school sitting in the principal's office. "Dr. Beckett hasn't been able to isolate the cause but something has started to mutate my brother's DNA to that on an Ancient and it may kill him in the process."

Elizabeth didn't know if John was exaggerating but she had a sinking feeling that he wasn't. So she began making a mental list of things they would need on their trip to Earth so they could leave as quickly as possible.

The greedy look in the Colonel's eyes was unmistakable and John actually growled. There was no way that someone was going to run experiments on his brother or use him as some sort of lab rat. "Colonel I'm telling you right now that my brother is off limits to you." John refused to admit the possibility that Jason could die. His plan would work, it had to.

"John."

"Major."

Both started at the same time but John cut them off. There were a lot of things he was willing to compromise on in the name of completing a mission or keeping his people safe but when it came to Jason, there was no compromise. "No, Jason is my responsibility. I speak for him and I'm telling you that no one gets their hands on him."

It looked like things were going to keep going in circles. Elizabeth was fully supporting John while Caldwell was trying to use military procedure and the chain of command to get Sheppard to obey his orders.

None of them realized how much time they had spent in the conference room arguing until Rodney entered. His face was lit up like a little boy on Christmas. "It's incredible; I can't believe we didn't realize it sooner." All this was blurted out totally derailing the argument that was still taking place.

Grateful for any distraction even if it meant he had to listen to Rodney's techno babble, John turned towards his friend and asked "What's so incredible?"

Rodney took a seat, oblivious to the lingering tension in the room. "The ZPMs, we've installed both of them."

"Ok so we have more power how is that different than what we had with a single ZPM?" Asked Elizabeth.

"Because it isn't just having a spare ZPM. Somehow they work in conjunction with each and reduce the amount of entropy that is produced from the power drain. In terms you can understand, the result is greater than the sum of its parts."

Rodney stopped and stared off into space and then suddenly snapped his fingers.

"Of course, that's how the Ancients could maintain the shield for thousands of years. Three ZPMs working in tandem must prolong the useful life of each one even further. I wonder if the change plateaus at three. Why else would they stop there?" The last questions were muttered more than anything.

The argument over Jason was put aside for the time being. Instead the four leaders discussed the ramifications of having the two ZPMs. Not only was the city immeasurably safer from the Wraith but it was actually possible that the city could take off and perform a hyperspace jump if the situation called for it.

Plans were quickly formed for Caldwell to take his ship back to Earth. John, Elizabeth, Rodney and Carson along with the seriously wounded and Jason would return via the Stargate within the next few hours. For some reason this seemed to satisfy Caldwell who probably felt that General Landry, the CO of the SGC would take Jason into custody.

John was standing next to Jason's stretcher as he watched the gate light up. Every so often his brother would moan softly. Wanting to feel a physical connection, John began running his fingers through Jason's hair which strangely seemed to sooth the teenager. Once the wormhole was established, John leaned down and whispered. "Everything is going to be ok Jason. I'm taking you home."


	12. Homecoming

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

**A/N: ****This is a short transition chapter. The next one will be the normal length again.**

**Chapter ****1****2: ****Homecoming**

**October 7****th ****SGC, Cheyenne Mountain CO**

Alarms were blaring when John and the others arrived back in the Milky Way.

It was more than a little strange for the group to arrive back on Earth after having fought off the Wraith only to be faced with armed guards. It was only a few seconds before the voice of General O'Neill was heard over the loud speaker in the gate room ordering the men to stand down.

John looked over and saw that Carson was kneeling down next to the stretcher carrying Jason. There was a small scanner in his hand and he was slowly panning it over Jason's prone body. Carson frowned briefly and continued to analyze the data being displayed.

While this was happening General O'Neill along with the members of SG-1 entered the gate room to personally greet the returnees. John was oblivious to their arrival, his attention focused solely on Carson and his brother.

"Doc, is he ok?" John asked softly, the concern obvious in his voice.

Carson didn't bother looking up. He just finished checking Jason over as he answered. "Aye, the trip through the gate didn't seem to cause any damage or worsen his condition. Still Major, whoever you need to talk to, I suggest you do it sooner rather than later."

"Major, is everything ok?" The voice was familiar and carried a combination of humor and authority.

John's training kicked in and snapped to his feet with a crisp salute when he saw who had addressed him. General O'Neill was standing in front of him flanked by a tall blond woman who he vaguely remembered to be Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter and Dr. Daniel Jackson. "I apologize General, Dr. Beckett was checking over my brother."

Carter suggested that the conference room might be a better location for a debriefing to which O'Neill quickly agreed. "I expect an explanation Major."

John was torn, he knew he needed to be in the debriefing because he was going to need the resources of the SGC to get Jason help but at the same time, he was leery of leaving Jason when he was in this condition.

Carson saw the flicker of hesitation and solved the dilemma for John. "Don't worry Major; I want to take Jason to the infirmary for a more thorough exam before we move him again. I will let you know if there are any changes."

"Thanks Doc."

Everyone filed out of the gate room and split up when John, Elizabeth and Rodney followed SG-1 and O'Neill up a set of stairs towards the conference room. Carson was led to the infirmary by a pair of SFs.

Once everyone was seated around the table, there was a moment of uncomfortable silence before Elizabeth broke it by saying "Thank you for the men and resources you sent us General. Without them, I don't think we would have survived and I know that both Major Sheppard and Jason Sheppard owe their survival to the timely arrival of the Daedelus."

What followed was a brief description of the siege of Atlantis and a description of the casualties suffered. John noticed that Rodney kept glancing at Carter with what Rodney no doubt thought were subtle looks of puppy love. It was a struggle for John not to laugh because Carter was blatantly ignoring the man.

"So let me make sure I understand. Jason Sheppard a 17 year old boy was responsible for controlling the defenses of the city?" O'Neill was amused but also a little annoyed. He hated surprises. True, they had been informed of his presence in the city during their initial transmission but there still weren't enough details for his liking on how he managed to get there in the first place.

John blanched a little at the tone but answered none the less. "Yes General, as we said in our data burst the Ancients encountered a small group of Wraith that had managed to incorporate some of their DNA allowing them to use Ancient technology. In order to safe guard the city, a second genetic sequence was added to their more sensitive or powerful systems."

Carter was fascinated by the idea. "That's incredible and he was the only one among you that had both genetic sequences? Dr. Beckett hasn't had any luck in replicating the second sequence as he did with the first sequence? What sites were protected in addition to the Control Chair?"

Rodney spoke for the first time since the debriefing began. "No though Carson has done an admirable job of almost making a legitimate science out of medicine, he has not been able to identify the genetic sequence. Since Jason is the only one that appears to carry it…"

Carter cut him off in her excitement. "There is no one to compare against. With the first genetic sequence we had multiple subjects that could be used to compile a genetic profile."

"Yes and unfortunately, the same sequence has been used to protect a number of their labs on other worlds. According to the logs we were able to download, they were nearing completion of a weapon designed to specifically target the Wraith." Rodney finished.

Daniel was practically bouncing in his chair with excitement. "Those were the logs that you included in your transmission. I've just barely scratched the surface on translating them. How were you able to get so far, I was under the impression that Dr. Weir was the most familiar with the Ancient's language?"

"Danny, you can compare notes later." O'Neill said bringing the overenthusiastic archaeologist back under control. "So I take it that you are going to tell me that Jason is essential to the survival of Atlantis as he is needed to get into these labs on run the city's defenses?"

Before Rodney could answer, Carter jumped in with another question of her own about the city. "Weren't you able to interface and override control of the weapons without the use of the Control Chair once it was initialized?"

"No, the firewalls and defense protocols are astoundingly complex. It was pure luck that we were able to lower the shield without using the chair. I'm not even sure I could raise it again."

Elizabeth looked at Rodney from over her coffee cup and clarified for the general. "What Dr. McKay is trying to say is that yes with Jason Sheppard we have no way to control the defenses or even the shields. Plus he has been the only one who could access the labs that were being used to build this secret weapon."

"Ignoring that for the moment and believe me we will return to the subject of your brother and the role he has been playing in Atlantis, Major Sheppard how did the Daedelus perform against the Wraith?" O'Neill questioned. As much as he wanted to discuss Jason Sheppard he knew that neither Carter nor Daniel had the security clearance necessary to go into all the details.

John described the battle above the planet in more detail and focused specifically on what he saw. "Defensively it was more maneuverable and had better shields that either the Wraith Hive Ships or cruisers. Offensively, it was completely outmatched. The only way that we were able to destroy the last Hive Ship was by convincing the little alien guy to beam a nuke on board."

O'Neill frowned. "I'd hoped the weapons would perform better but for now they are the best that we can produce here on Earth."

Rodney chose that moment to chime in again much to the annoyance of both John and Elizabeth. "Tell him about the black-hole."

"Rodney!"

"McKay!"

"Black-hole? What's going on Major?" This time there was no humor in O'Neill's voice and his eyes had gone cold. He knew how dangerous they were from personal experience. The SGC had lost a team to a planet being pulled into a black-hole a little over six years ago.

John looked apologetically at him. "General have you gotten the same clearance levels as my brother? Some of what happened pertains to classified information."

"This happened while you were on the Daedelus?" After getting an affirmative nod from John, O'Neill sighed. This was going to be a pain. "Ok go ahead; I'll make sure that Carter and Daniel get the necessary clearance."

"When Jason and Teyla were beamed on board from the Wraith cruiser, Jason didn't realize what was going on and blasted apart some of the bridge with lightning."

"What? How is that possible?" This came from both Carter and Daniel.

John looked at the general and waited for his to nod that it was ok to proceed. "My brother is a wizard." He stopped and waited for the scoffs. Rodney was nodding with the John though which did more to convince Carter and Daniel because the man would not believe any such claim lightly. A brief description of magic followed along with what little John knew of the wizarding world.

"Anyway, I tackled him and kind of brought him back to his senses for a minute but then he saw the damaged Wraith cruiser. He just seemed to react instinctually. Somehow, he drew power directly from the Daedelus and used it to create a mini black-hole that destroyed the remaining Wraith fighters and the Cruiser."

"And he's in the infirmary now?" Carter clarified. She was astounded; not only was the major claiming that magic was real but his brother somehow managed to create a black-hole even if it only lasted a few minutes.

For the first time, the emotionless mask that John had worn since they arrived in the conference room slipped. Everyone could see the naked worry and concern etched into his face. "Something is changing his DNA. He is being changed into a full Ancient but the process is killing him." John stopped and took a breath. "General, I have a contact that works for the same organization as my father used to that may be my brother's only hope."

"Sir?" Carter turned to look at O'Neill. Her natural curiosity was in overdrive as she tried to figure out what organization outside of the SGC would have enough knowledge of genetics to help John's brother.

O'Neill studied John, Elizabeth and Rodney for a moment. He noted that Elizabeth seemed to know who John was referring to but that Rodney didn't. While he was willing to waive security clearance for Jason's abilities, this was something that even he could not blithely ignore. "I'm sorry Carter, but you Dr. McKay and Daniel need to leave the room while I discuss this with Major Sheppard and Dr. Weir. We will pick this up again later."

"Jack?" It was the first time Daniel had ever been asked to leave a briefing because of clearance. He imagined it was a new experience for Carter as well.

O'Neill turned and smiled at his friend. "I know you're curious but this time Danny you're going to have to deal with it. Same goes for you Carter." Then before O'Neill could stop himself because he just knew how much McKay grated on Carter's nerves. "Maybe you and McKay could figure out what was going on with the black-hole."

John smirked when Rodney immediately perked up. "I'm sure I can come up with the answer but Lt. Colonel Carter's participation shouldn't slow me down significantly."

Carter turned in her chair and gave O'Neill a look that promised great pain at the next opportunity. "Thanks Rodney, I'll try not to get in your way."

She stood along with Daniel. "Well come on McKay, I think they're serving lemon chicken today. I wouldn't want you to miss out."

Rodney stopped in his tracks. "Hey, I'm deathly allergic to citrus, that isn't funny."

Neither Daniel nor Carter were listening to him, they were both already going down the stairs to the control room forcing Rodney to race after them.

"Ahh, the perks of leadership. Now, Major I must say that between you and your brother I never have to worry about being bored."

John wanted to make sure that everything was on the table. It was only a matter of time before Caldwell was able to transmit his report to the SGC and he didn't want the General to be taken by surprise. "General before we go into that, I think you should know that Colonel Caldwell tried to order Jason's arrest for the damage done to his ship and the destruction of the Wraith vessel."

Elizabeth added in her own portion of the story. "I refused the order. As leader of Atlantis, the man had no authority and I feel that there were extenuating circumstances. It was only afterwards that we found out about the changes that Jason was undergoing. I believe that he was reacting on pure instinct at the time because he has never shown himself to be out of control before."

"Just what exactly happened out there Major?"

John once again explained what happened and what he knew occurred on the cruiser. He also gave a more complete account of their confrontation with Caldwell.

"Sir, I have the means to contact the head of the Torchwood 3 facility. I believe that he may be able to help my brother."

O'Neill rubbed his eyes. The major was leaving a great big steaming mess for him to deal with. While he was sympathetic there wasn't much he would be able to do to shield the man from Caldwell. Technically he hadn't violated orders since Elizabeth was in charge but it would still be frowned upon. After taking into account Sheppard's already sketchy record, it was unlikely that he would be making it much further up the chain of command.

"I'm going to need more than that Major. We don't exactly share well with others and Torchwood is much the same."

John sagged a little. He didn't really like talking about what happened to Jason all those years ago, especially without his brother's knowledge but there was little choice. So he told the story of how Jason had been found and the transfusions from Uncle Jack and Jason's adoption.

Elizabeth had never heard the story before either. She'd come to accept that her military commander was a very private person something that the presence of his brother seemed to help. This though, the story was incredible and very personal. It almost felt like she was intruding on a very private family memory. Right then, Elizabeth decided that even if Jason had nothing to offer Atlantis, she would make it her personal mission to see him come back there.

O'Neill had a similar reaction. Like most career military, he had a strong sense of family and the idea of someone, anyone, targeting an 18 month old baby was just wrong. If he could, he'd find the people responsible and explain to them why those kinds of things were just not done. He would explain it in the most painful way possible.

"So, you're hoping that another transfusion of blood will help your brother like it did before?" O'Neill may hide it but he was by no means stupid. You didn't reach his position without being smart and he'd found that people often underestimated him which made his job much easier.

"Yes. General you need to understand that what I'm about to tell you is not widely know even within Torchwood. Uncle Jack was exposed to alien healing technology years ago that changed his physiology somewhat. He doesn't get sick and heals incredibly fast. It was his transfusion that saved my brother when he was just a baby."

O'Neill was quiet as he thought about it. If what they were saying was true and he really had no reason to doubt them, then Jason was critical to defense of Atlantis and may in fact be a key resource in defeating the Wraith. "Ok Major contact your uncle. If necessary we can use the Prometheus to transport you and your brother to the UK."

"Thank you General." There was no mistaking the relief and gratitude in John's voice. "With your permission, general I will go and contact Jack right now." John left quickly after receiving a nod from O'Neill.

"Dr. Weir I have some concerns about Jason returning to Atlantis." O'Neill said simply. With John gone, it was now a discussion between two leaders, neither of whom directly reported to the other. While O'Neill did have some say in the military contingent that occupied Atlantis, ultimately they were controlled by the IOA.

"I know he's young General but he really is critical." Elizabeth argued.

"I'm not disputing that fact. My concerns are more for Jason himself. What exactly will happen to Jason when this is over or if you are forced to retreat from Atlantis back to Earth?" O'Neill wouldn't put the safety of one person over the Earth but anyone familiar with him knew that there were few things that got under his skin more than a child in need. His concern now was for Jason's future.

Elizabeth folded her hands in front of her on the table and looked at O'Neill in confusion. She truly didn't understand what the man was implying. "I'm not sure I understand. We would never leave Jason behind or sacrifice him, just like we wouldn't sacrifice any member of the expedition."

"Dr. Weir despite his importance to Atlantis, Jason is 17 years old. As far as I know, he hasn't even finished high school yet. What will happen to him in the future? He won't have any education and everything he's done is classified so high that most of the people on this base won't ever see his file. So I want to know what you plan to do to ensure that he has choices ahead of him."

This was a side of the General that Elizabeth had never seen before. She'd seen him determined and playful but never this deadly serious. What's more, his question was 100 valid; it was something that they had only given cursory thought to. "He's received some training from Dr. Beckett but honestly it never occurred to me to think that far ahead."

"Half-assed training from a doctor during his free time does not cut it in my book doctor. If he is going back, we need to come up with something that will give him choices."

Of course, both leaders were operating under the assumption that Jason would survive his current ordeal.

**Outside Cheyenne Mountain CO**

John left the conference room feeling a little more hopeful than he had before speaking with General O'Neill. Now though, he had two calls that he needed to make. The first one was much easier. Using the communicator he'd found in Jason's room, he called Jack. Luckily for John, Jack didn't sleep much since it was the middle of the night in Cardiff when he finally made the call.

It had gone pretty much as John expected. There was the usual surprise that John was the one contacting Jack. Though he considered the man his uncle, Jason had always been closer to him. That was quickly followed by the obligatory update on how things were going. This time though, John had to break pattern. He could catch up with Jack later, right now Jason needed all the help he could get and John was afraid that there wasn't much time to spare.

John explained the situation in a hurried voice, giving as many details as possible while stressing the danger that Jason was in. Predictably he got some of the terms wrong but Jack was still able to understand the gist of the problem.

They spent a few minutes going over Jason's current condition with Jack asking questions. In the end, he agreed that another transfusion was probably the best chance for Jason to survive or even just to improve his chances. John was fairly confident though that given the change that Jason had already undergone as a child that he would survive this ordeal as well.

Before disconnecting, Jack asked John to give him a couple of hours so that he could make sure his people were in place and all the necessary equipment was available. He didn't want them to make the journey only to wait while his team worked especially if John was going to be using alternate methods of travel.

John was just about to break the connection when he remembered Carson. "Aww crap, Jack you still there?"

It took a few seconds before Jack's voice came back over the communicator. "Yeah I'm still here. What is it?"

Security at Torchwood was as tight if not tighter than the SGC. If only because they'd been around longer and were technically not under the purview of any single government, yet John knew that this would be a deal breaker. There was not a chance in hell of Carson allowing Jason out of his sight especially not if he was going to undergo some risky procedure.

"John you there, what did you need?" Jack asked again, this time a little louder in case there was interference.

John jumped a little. He didn't even realize that he'd gotten lost in his thoughts. "Yeah, see there is one thing I forgot to mention."

Jack while not being one to go overboard on security was also not nearly as gung-ho about it as his superiors would prefer. "John just spit it out; I have things to get ready if we are going to help Jason." He knew that using Jason would prod John to just get on with it.

"Ok Carson Beckett, the Chief Medical Officer of our base insists on being there when we do the transfusion."

"John…"

"He's taken a shine to Jason and I don't think he'd really trust someone else with him."

"John…"

"Come on Jack, he's already got clearance for one of the most secret programs in existence and he knows about Jason's special talents. I think you can trust him. He's saved most of our lives at one point or another over the last 9 months." John finished quickly.

"John, are you done? Can I speak now?" There was a note of humor mixed with more than a bit of exasperation in Jack's voice.

"Uh yeah, I'm done now."

Jack laughed softly. "If you'd let me get a word in edgewise, I would've told you that as long as he signs a non-disclosure agreement he can come."

This time it was Jack who asked one final question before breaking the connection. "Is there anyone else tagging along that I need to know about? Did you think to call James? He should probably be there as well."

"Crap, I didn't even think about that. Hopefully I can get a hold of him in time." John gave it a little thought before he finally finished with "There might be one other person, Dr. Elizabeth Weir but she has Torchwood clearance so that shouldn't be an issue."

"That's ok then, I will see you in a couple of hours." This time there was a click and a brief burst of static signaling the end of the conversation.

John looked down at the small black communicator wishing for just a moment that Jack hadn't broken the connection already. He was really dreading the next call he had to make. Part of him hoped that James wasn't home; it would be easier to just leave a message. At least he could put it off for a few minutes; the communicator he'd used to contact Jack wouldn't do him any good with James so he needed to get to a phone.

Once he was back inside the mountain, John asked one of the SFs stationed everywhere for a private room he could use. It was strange walking through the dull grey corridors of the SGC after living for close to a year in Atlantis with its greens and browns.

Surprisingly he thought a little anonymity would be nice but even after a few hours, John found he missed seeing the faces of his people. Teyla, Aiden, even Radek Zelenka were people that he'd grown accustomed to seeing frequently throughout the day. It wasn't loneliness; it was more of missing the feeling that had grown around the entire Atlantis expedition. They were the only Earthlings in the galaxy and were dependent on each other for survival. Not that there weren't a few individuals that he would gladly see leave but overall it was just a sense of belonging. The SGC probably had it too, but he wasn't part of the SGC so to John it was like being stuck on the outside looking in.

It took him a few moments to remember the phone number; after all it had been quite some time since he'd called Jason or James on the phone. The phone rang a number of times, 7 to be exact. John was just about to give up and try to contact James again once they reached Cardiff but after the 7th ring a scratchy voice came back to John over the receiver.

"Hello?" The voice was scratchy and faint.

"James?" John asked, hopefully he hadn't woken up the wrong person.

"Huh?" There was a lengthy pause before the voice came back again but still rather incoherent. "Who?"

John sighed softly and settled into a stiff back chair, the only decent piece of furniture in the otherwise empty room. "I'm trying to get a hold of James Potter."

Again there was a pause. "Oh sorry, I think I'm still asleep. I'm James. Who is this?"

John couldn't help it; he rolled his eyes and swore silently to himself. Yes it was the middle of the night but was it that hard to pick up a phone? "It's John, John Sheppard."

Finally, that seemed to break through the fuzziness that had taken the place of James' brain. "John, oh my god is that really you? Is Jason with you?"

John ran his free hand through his hair nervously and then answered. "Yes it's me James and Jason is here too."

Whether it was because he'd just been woken up or some other reason but James totally missed the undertone of John's voice, the subtle tremor that could be heard only by those who knew him well. "Well, put him on. I was so worried when he disappeared and then I got that taped message…"

"James, I…" John began cutting off the man's rambling. "I called because Jason is sick, really sick."

"What? How?" James' thoughts were frantic. Thomas was still in the hospital even if he was getting out soon and he didn't want to replace him with Jason. "Is it serious? Can you do anything?"

John sighed again. He was doing this too much of late if he wasn't careful his hair was going to be as grey as General O'Neill's and it would all be because of Jason. "I think it would be easier to go into the details in person. Something is changing Jason's DNA. We are taking him to Cardiff for a transfusion from Jack. Since it worked when he was a baby, we are hoping that it will give him enough strength to survive this…whatever it is."

"I don't understand…it doesn't matter though. Where in Cardiff and when will you be there?" James asked trying to keep his voice steady and under control.

John quickly told him the address of the Torchwood 3 facility and promised him more information when they met up. "Jason's doctor will be with us and he is the most qualified to tell you what is going on."

"John what's been going on? What have you and Jason been doing? How did he get hurt?" James was desperate for information, any information that could help him make sense of the current circumstances.

"We don't have time, when Jason is better I will tell you what I can but some of it is classified and as much as I'd like to tell you…"

"That's crap John; you could tell me if you wanted to. What am I going to do with some muggle military secret anyway?"

John may be many things but a pushover wasn't one of them. James had pushed him at the wrong time. All the worry, all the guilt, all the frustration bubbled up in a fury and John lashed out at the closest target, even if that target was thousands of miles away. "Fuck you Potter! You may be Jason's biological father but that doesn't mean I have to take your shit!"

There was no response. The only sound was heavy breathing coming from both men.

James was the first to break the silence. "John I'm…"

"I don't give a shit right now. If you want to see Jason meet us at the address I gave you, otherwise fuck off." Before James could say anything else, John hung up. "Damn it!" He yelled and threw the desk phone against the wall shattering the plastic and showering the corner with small parts.

The door to the room opened and a SF stood in the doorway. "Sir is there a problem?"

John spun and then his face turned red in embarrassment. "No…uh…the phone…" He really wasn't sure what to say.

The SF had seen more than his share of officers losing their cool and he knew when to gloss over such an incident. "Don't worry sir; those phones have always been a problem. They have a habit of committing suicide." Somehow he managed to say this with a completely straight face.

There was a brief smile on John's face and he nodded in gratitude before leaving the room. "What is the quickest way to get to the infirmary?"

The SF gave John directions and then went to go get maintenance so that the remains of the phone could be laid to rest.

Back in the infirmary, John wasted no time catching Carson up on the plans and how they were going to transport Jason to Cardiff. Before the Scotsman could even open his mouth, John was telling him that he'd already received permission for Carson to along to which John received an authoritative nod and something that sounded suspiciously like "You better bloody believe I'm going."

Of course, John wouldn't leave the infirmary without first spending a few minutes with Jason. Carson had explained that he was stable but he preferred to get the procedure done as soon as possible. If they waited too long it might not do any good.

So when John left, it was to head back to see General O'Neill. Now that things were set on the Torchwood side he needed to see about coordinating transport to the Prometheus and back to Cardiff. He would need to speak with Elizabeth as well. Fortunately, she could cover for him until he was able to return.

It took a few minutes for John to wind his way through the corridors of the SGC back to the conference room. Inside, Elizabeth and O'Neill were still going over various aspects of their report as well as preliminary plans for an expansion of expedition personnel both civilian and military.

Elizabeth looked over towards the metal staircase when she heard footsteps. Her worried face was proof of her concern for Jason. "J…Major Sheppard?" She quickly corrected herself.

John sported a half-smile at Elizabeth's slip and said "General O'Neill, Dr. Weir, I spoke with Torchwood and they are willing to attempt the procedure we discussed earlier."

O'Neill addressed both of the leaders from Atlantis. "When will Jason be ready for transport? The Prometheus is standing by." While he was meeting with Elizabeth, a sergeant had contacted the Prometheus by his request to ensure that everything would be set as soon as the arrangements with Torchwood were finalized.

"According to Dr. Beckett, Jason is stable and can be transported at any time. Of course the man has no intention of letting Jason out of his sight any time soon but I got the ok from Torchwood so he will be coming along to supervise the procedure." There was a nervous energy running through him now that everything was in place. This was a situation where he could do nothing to add value. The only way he'd been able to help at all was by simply facilitating communications between the two organizations. Not that it wasn't important but beyond that he had not control over the outcome.

"Major, given your brother's importance to Atlantis I would feel more comfortable if someone from the SGC were there as well to make sure nothing happens to him."

"I trust my uncle General; I really don't think he would do anything to endanger Jason." Argued John.

"Both Dr. Weir and I agree that if an organization like the NID were to get wind of your brother, they would do everything in their power to get control of him. I'm sure you agree that would not be a good thing."

John nodded instantly. In Atlantis it wasn't a concern so much but while Jason was back on Earth he would be at risk and John wouldn't be able to protect him. "Yes sir, thank you. Who would you assign?"

"Take a seat Major; you look dead on your feet."

It was true, John looked haggard. The battle against the Wraith had been draining and combined with rescuing Teyla and Jason from the Wraith and their subsequent return to Earth, John was running on fumes.

John sagged gratefully into one of the available black leather chairs that were positioned around the large rectangular wooden conference table.

"Now to answer your question, as it happens we've discovered that there may be a cache of Ancient technology in the UK. So SG-1 is going to join you on the Prometheus. For security reasons they still won't know about Torchwood though." Supplied O'Neill with a smile.

"Where do you expect my brother to stay while he is recovering?"

It was all well and good to have some protection for Jason but he didn't think Carson would allow him to be dragged all over the British countryside.

The speed of the General's answer told John that he and Elizabeth had clearly given the matter some thought in the time that he was gone. "There are two options really. Once your brother is strong enough to be moved, he can either recuperate in the infirmary on the Prometheus though that has its own risks. The second option would be to stay at your home in Suffolk, assuming you don't mind having some house guests."

John didn't even need to think about his answer and he was also immensely grateful that O'Neill was assuming that Jason would recover. There had been no 'ifs' anywhere in his answers, at least not in relation to Jason's health. "I'm pretty sure that Jason would do better in familiar surroundings. Plus, it would give his biological father a chance to see him." The last was said somewhat grudgingly because he was still miffed at the man but he would never try and limit his access to Jason, unless he became a threat that is.

Elizabeth had been watching the two men discuss what would happen, her head swiveling back and forth. Now she was zeroing on John. "Will it cause you any problems if you can't tell him anything? He's going to want to know where Jason has been and what is going on."

"There will probably be some but Jason knows that he can't tell James anything. James won't be happy about it but he'll just have to live with it." There was a slight undertone of resentment in John's voice that was picked up by both O'Neill and Elizabeth.

There were a few more minutes of discussion but for the most part it was simply finalizing the details of what would happen with Jason once the he was on the mend. As it turned out, Daniel was particularly interested in talking with Jason and comparing notes. After all, he was one of the only other people that could easily translate Ancient.

Time permitting, O'Neill promised that Daniel would also work on translating the journals or more specifically the portion of the journals that Jason hadn't completed yet. At a minimum it would make it easier once Jason returned to Atlantis.

Elizabeth had one final topic to bring up before John left. "General O'Neill presented a concern about Jason returning to Atlantis."

John tensed up but didn't say anything preferring to have Elizabeth to repeat whatever the concern was before he went off the deep end.

"The General is concerned that Jason is sacrificing his future by being in Atlantis." Elizabeth could see that John was about to protest so she held up her hand to forestall him. "I agree with him. We aren't talking about Jason's health but rather his education. We need to come up with something that will allow Jason to finish his education and decide what he wants to do."

John didn't know what to say. Once again, he felt a flash of guilt like he had failed Jason in some way. It wasn't tough to see where they were coming from; back on Earth Jason would have nothing to fall back on with no formal training or education. He doubted that Jason would want to be stuck in the wizarding world or he hadn't shown any real interest in the wizarding world anyway.

"Oh…" John blushed in embarrassment. "I appreciate that. I should've thought of that myself."

"It's easier to see from the outside Major." Replied O'Neill. "While you're gone, we will see what we can come up with."

"Thank you sir and I'm sure Jason will appreciate it as well."

This time, there was nothing left to discuss. John went to the infirmary to finalize things with Carson. Once Jason was ready for transport, he would contact O'Neill so that they could be transported to the Prometheus.

Carson was quick and efficient. It took less than 15 minutes from the time John entered the infirmary with the news regarding Jason to the time that everything was gathered and ready to go. Equipment, supplies, and charts showing the course of the transformation were all packed away ready for transport. The only thing that Carson kept on his person was his Ancient scanner that he could use surreptitiously. It was far superior to anything they had today even with backward engineering a handful of alien devices that had been found over the course of years by the SGC.

Elizabeth was watching from the control room a half hour later as John and Carson stood in the gate room. Jason was on a stretcher in between the two men. Equipment was scattered around them. The only thing that they were waiting on was the arrival of SG-1.

John was just starting to pace back and forth in front of the ramp to the Stargate when the once of the metal security doors slid open and 4 people walked in, three men and one woman. John immediately recognized Daniel Jackson and Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter.

The tall solidly built black man with a gold brand on his forehead could only be Teal'c. He'd never met the man, only heard other people talk about him. Years ago he'd defected from the service of Apophis, one of the Goa'uld system lords.

The last man was a couple inches shorter than John. He had short brown hair and bore a strange resemblance to Daniel Jackson but it was obvious that they weren't related. The man noticed John staring at him so he moved over to introduce himself. "Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell, I hear we'll be spending some time together."

John saluted before responding. "Yes sir, but hopefully not too much time. I would prefer it if my brother isn't laid up too long. Believe me you don't want to be around him when he gets bored."

"I think Jackson will have enough to keep him busy. The man was practically drooling at the thought of working with someone who knew Ancient as well as he does."

John's response was cut short by O'Neill's voice coming over the PA. "Now that the gang is all hear, we've signaled the Prometheus. Good luck Major, I'm sure your brother will be fine." There was a click as the PA turned off but then it clicked again and O'Neill added in a very dry voice "And SG-1 try and stay out of trouble for once. I'm already grey; I don't need to go bald too."

There were a number of rueful glances being shared by SG-1 before everyone was enveloped in a bright flash of white light. In seconds, the group along with all their equipment appeared on the Prometheus. Carson moved to check over Jason and ensure that he was unaffected by the transport.

The journey from Colorado to the UK took very little time, less than a ½ hour. Once the commander radioed them letting them know that they were in place over the UK, John contacted Jack to make sure everything was ready and to get coordinates.

Before John and Carson were beamed down to Torchwood, they promised to meet SG-1 in Suffolk once Jason was stable enough to be moved.

John, Carson and Jason appeared on the main floor of Torchwood 3. As soon as they appeared, alarms started blaring and the 3 people were scrambling around trying to figure out what was going one. Based on the expressions on their faces, Jack hadn't informed his team how they would be arriving.

Jack came rushing from his office. "Owen shut that damn alarm off! Tosh, Gwen everything is ok. These are the people I told you about."

Gwen had shoulder length dark brown hair and a pale complexion. She was tense and looked ready to leap at the intruders but the presence of an unconscious teenager on a stretcher gave her pause. So she just turned towards Jack and stuttered "But…how...I thought…"

Tosh, a Japanese woman in her late 20s was in a similar state of confusion. But while Gwen was relatively new to Torchwood, Tosh had been an agent for a few years now so she wasn't as surprised that there was some other group out there with access to alien or advanced technology. Plus, she trusted Jack so she was willing to follow his lead.

The alarm shut off and Owen was making his way back to the group when it started blaring again. This time, Jack along with the rest of his team was looking frantically for the source. Tosh rushed over to her computer terminal to try and identify the nature of the threat when the main hatch slid open.

The final member of their team, a young Welshman name Ianto Jones walked stiffly into the facility with his hands held to the side.

"James?!" Both John and Jack yelled at the same time. James Potter was standing behind Ianto with his wand pressed to the young man's back.

Jack rushed over to Ianto and pulled him away. "What the hell do you think you are doing threatening one of my men?!" Jack was already pushing Ianto behind him in a very protective move.

James put his wand away but that didn't stop him from yelling back. "Maybe I wouldn't have to if he'd of let me in." Then James turned on John "Or if you would tell me what the fuck is going on."

When it looked like everyone was gearing for an argument Carson stepped in and put everyone in their place. "You can all bloody shut up. If any of you are interested in trying to help Jason, then I suggest you get over it and let me do my job."

Then Carson turned towards Jack. Based on the limited interaction, he was clearly in charge and most likely the person John had told him about. "Captain Harkness?" At Jack's nervous nod, Carson continued his rant. "Where's your infirmary? We don't have time to waste. You and Major Sheppard take the stretcher."

Despite the fact that Carson had no authority over anyone present, they all began to follow his orders. Owen followed along and conferred with Carson about Jason's condition. Gwen, Ianto, and Tosh stayed out of the way. They had no medical training and would just be in the way.

James followed on the footsteps of John biting his tongue the entire time. He'd be loathe to admit it, but this man kind of scared him and James wasn't eager to attract his attention again even if he did want information on Jason's condition.

It didn't take long for Owen and Carson to attach monitoring equipment to both Jack and Jason. Though it was almost primitive, they setup a connecting IV between the two to begin the transfusion.

James had waited patiently in a corner for as long as could. When it appeared that the procedure had started and the doctors were now just monitoring he thought it might be safe to ask his question. "Doctor?" He began softly and very respectfully.

John almost laughed at James' tone. Carson knew how to make an impression when he wanted to.

Carson spun in the chair that he was sitting in to face James. "Yes?"

"Can you tell me what is happening with Jason?"

Carson sent a questioning look to John. He'd never met James before so he didn't know who he was or how he knew Jason.

"He's Jason's biological father." Supplied John.

"Ahh…well something is changing Jason's DNA. As the process progressed, his body began identifying the new DNA and attacking it like it would a virus or bacterial infection."

James felt like he'd just been hit in the stomach. He had more questions only some of which Carson could answer. Some Carson just didn't know like what had caused the change. Others about Atlantis he couldn't answer because of the Top Secret nature of the expedition.

His head spinning with the information and worry, James sank down to the floor with his back against the wall.

John saw the normally strong man teetering on the edge and decided that he would be the bigger man. "James, this is Jason, he's strong. He'll get through this. Jack helped him once, I'm sure this will help him through the worst of it."

Owen, the Torchwood doctor, finally had enough of being kept in the dark. Jack had not really explained much about what was going on before their arrival. "This is all sweet but I'd like to know who the fuck you are? How you got here and why we don't have something similar?"

Jack rolled his head toward his team member. "Owen…"

"No Jack, it has to be alien technology. I thought Torchwood controlled all access to alien technology." Argued Owen but he still didn't move from his position by the monitors. He may have been argumentative and obnoxious at times but he took his duties as a doctor seriously. "And how did a teenager get exposed to something that could change his DNA?"

"Owen I'm sure you can understand the meaning of Top Secret. Despite the propaganda, Torchwood does not have a lock on all the alien technology on Earth." Jack wasn't in the mood to humor Owen. The man could be so grating but his question was valid given the circumstances.

Owen huffed. "That doesn't explain how they knew about Torchwood." It almost looked like he was pouting. During his time with Torchwood, Owen had become accustomed to being the one in the know and not being kept in the dark.

"If you must know, Jason and Major Sheppard's father was a member of my team before he transferred to Torchwood 1. He was killed during the battle at Canary Warf during the Cyberman invasion."

Surprisingly that shut Owen up and he focused on monitoring the transfusion.

Over the course of the next hour, the transfusion was completed. Carson was pleased with the results. Already, Jason's vitals had improved his heartbeat dropping to 75 and his blood pressure returned to normal. Both he and Owen agreed that it would be best to continue monitoring for the rest of the day but that if there weren't any further changes, they could take him back to their home in Suffolk.

After Carson's pronouncement, John thanked Jack and turned and smiled at James. It was returned with a small nod and John moved over to sit by James on the floor. In soft voices they began to talk and as much as possible John filled James in on what was going on and Jason's role in things.

James was still unhappy that things were being kept from him but the rational part of his brain was telling him that John had no choice. Perhaps it was the fact that Jason seemed to be doing better and though he was still worried now the situation was no longer so dire that he was able to view the secrets that John was forced to keep with a more objective eye.

There was a moment of shared humor when John described Jason's punishment for doing something so foolhardy when he stepped through the veil alone. It also made James feel a little better knowing that they did try to send Jason home even if they were unsuccessful. What he didn't like and planned to argue in the future was the fact that Jason would be returning to wherever John was going.

The last revelation that John had for James was that their home was going to be shared by a small team from the base John was stationed at. They were apparently in the UK to search for something as well as protect Jason from any threats that may pop up.

John honestly didn't have any details to give James about SG-1 but he did warn him that they knew nothing about Torchwood or the wizarding world and it should probably stay that way.

**October ****16****th ****Suffolk UK**

It was just over nine days since the transfusion and Jason was doing much better. He'd regained consciousness a few times over the first two days before finally settling into a deep natural sleep. Carson was extremely pleased with Jason's progress and was fairly confident that the lad would pull through.

The transformation had progressed far enough that Jason's body was no longer rejecting the new DNA since it comprised more of his body than his original DNA. Now that it was no longer fighting the transformation, Jason's body was focused on sustaining itself. In fact, the Ancient genetics now that they comprised a majority of Jason's body were aiding in his recovery. As SG-1 had learned, the Ancients had incredible regenerative qualities of their own which Jason seemed to have gained by way of his newly changed DNA.

John had gotten permission to stay for a couple of days but he needed to get back to the SGC. There were duties for Atlantis that he couldn't keep putting off. Somehow, Elizabeth had convinced the General and rest of the military that he should remain the military commander of Atlantis and he'd even received another promotion, this time to Lt. Colonel.

Jason had woken up briefly before John left allowing him to talk to brother and reassure himself that Jason was going to pull through. Jason mostly listened to John talk before falling asleep again. Before leaving, he promised Jason that he would see him in Atlantis if not sooner.

Carson stayed for close to a week. He continued to monitor Jason's recovery. He only left once Jason was back on his feet. Like John, he had things to do in preparation for their return to Atlantis and he needed to get back to the SGC now that Jason was healthy.

James had also taken some time off of work so that he could be around when Jason was back on his feet. At first he was a little quiet around the strangers that Jason was surrounded by. Carson went into as much detail as possible describing Jason's time in Atlantis and what he had been doing with him in the infirmary. The information went a long way towards easing James' worries. At least Jason was still learning and doing something safe but he had a feeling that there was a lot more going on than he was being told about.

It was SG-1 that was confusing James the most. As far as he could see, there was no reason for them to be staying in their home with Jason but John apparently felt it was necessary for some mysterious reason.

They were nice enough. Daniel Jackson spent the most time in the home, pouring over a laptop and surrounded by various books. During one his few conversations with the man, James learned that he was working on translating journals written in the same language as that used on the Veil. Despite his best efforts to get more details ultimately he was stonewalled by the need for secrecy. It didn't help that James was unable to describe the Veil since it would violate the wizarding world's secrecy rules.

The other three seemed to use the house more as a home base often disappearing for much of the day.

The morning after Carson left, James was shocked when he walked into the kitchen to find Jason sitting at the table eating breakfast.

Jason looked up from his cereal and smiled tentatively at his dad when he saw him standing in the doorway. "Hi dad."

"Jason." James responded a little coolly. He stepped into the kitchen and moved over to pour himself a cup of coffee. One thing he definitely liked about having SG-1 staying with them was Daniel's love of coffee. The man could brew coffee better than James had ever tasted.

Jason's expression fell a little and dropped his eyes back towards the table. "Dad…I'm sorry for leaving like that."

James pulled out one of the chairs and sat down in the sturdy wooden chair. "Why?" This was their first real conversation since Jason's recovery and James had kept his anger tightly wrapped for as long as possible but since Jason was the one bringing it up.

"I…"

"And don't lie to me!" James said sharply.

"The dreams…" Jason began simply. "I knew that there was something on the other side that I was needed for. I didn't even understand when I got there and I'm still not sure exactly what I'm meant to do just that there are some things that only I can do."

"You mean the something that almost killed you?"

"Yes…no…I don't know. Carson said they still don't know what started changing my DNA. But dad, I know how much you hated the prophecy for what it did to our family, but this is different. I wish I could explain it all to you I really do. It's just instead of having no choice, the dreams were…" He stopped to gather his thoughts into something his father might understand. "The dreams didn't force me to do anything but they were more like a plea for help. With what I knew, I couldn't ignore that call."

James didn't know how to respond. "You're an adult, you didn't need my permission and obviously didn't need or want my opinion either." That was the crux of the problem for James. It felt like he'd been ignored or just discarded when he became inconvenient.

Jason blushed and dropped his eyes back to the table. He couldn't face his dad. He could almost feel the hurt radiating from him. "I'm sorry. I was afraid you'd try to stop me or that you would try to tell John somehow. And…"

"So you took the coward's way out. You left me a fucking note!" For the first time James raised his voice and Jason saw how truly upset he was.

Jason didn't shake his head. He didn't get angry. He just felt shame. His dad was right. Rather than explain things to him, he'd gone behind his back afraid of what the man might say. "You're right." He said simply. "I wish I could change what I did, but I can't and for that I'm sorry."

The admission didn't make James any less angry but it made it harder to yell for the moment. Instead, he picked up his coffee and left the room without saying another word.

Since that day, Jason had tried to talk to James a few times but he'd only gotten one word answers. So, as much as possible he tried to stay out of his dad's way which meant he ended up spending a lot of time with Daniel and working on translating the journals as well as looking for clues to the Ancient cache from Merlin that was rumored to be in the UK.

**October ****16****th ****Leaky Cauldron, London UK**

Michael Carmichael was looking around the run down restaurant eagerly. His friend, Albus Dumbledore was late. It never failed that as soon as Michael had news than Albus was always nowhere to be found. So it came as a shock, one that almost had him jumping out of his skin, when a hand fell on his shoulder.

Swiveling his head to see who it was, Michael glared good naturedly at the grinning face of his old friend. "Are you trying to kill me Albus? You know my heart isn't what it used to be."

"Of course I am, than I will finally be able to seduce Minerva without worrying about her straying in your direction." Albus laughed at his own joke even as he moved around Michael and slid into the booth opposite him.

Michael frowned. He'd always suspected that Albus had strange taste, given his choice in clothes and even candy. But hearing him joke about Minerva McGonagall was just another confirmation. More than that, it was slightly nauseating.

"Please Albus; I don't want to lose my appetite."

Albus laughed at the plaintive tone in his voice and relented. "So what do I owe the pleasure? I must say two meals in as many months."

"After our last discussion I thought you might be interested in some news I recently came by."

Albus searched his memory trying to recall the discussion during their last meeting. His confusion must have showed on his face because Michael chuckled softly and reminded him.

"Perhaps your mind is failing after all this time." Michael's chuckle changed to a laugh at his friend's sour expression. "We were discussing the Veil and James Potter's son."

Albus started coughing on the tea he'd just swallowed. "Pardon me." He wiped his mouth with a napkin and continued. "Have you learned something?" There was no mistaking the eagerness in his voice for news.

"I've heard that Potter has taken a couple of weeks off because Jason returned. He hasn't been seen in the department but I'm pretty confident the rumors are true."

"Truly? I would greatly enjoy the opportunity to speak with him. Who knows what he has seen and experienced on the other side of the Veil." Outwardly Albus looked like nothing more than an excited scholar. Inwardly the gears were turning. Another conversation with the Cornelius may be just the right thing to do at this time.


	13. Of Mice and Men

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

**A/N: ****Nothing to add this time**

**Chapter ****1****3****Of Mice and Men**

**October ****1****7****th****Ministry of Magic, London UK**

Albus left the Leaky Cauldron after speaking with his friend to head back to Hogwarts. His mind was spinning with plots and plans. Rather than speak to Cornelius prematurely, he decided to wait a day and come up with the best approach to get Harry Potter under his thumb. Harry Potter he thought again, yes he would need to get rid of that ridiculous American name Jason Sheppard it would mark a clean break from his old life and his entrance into the wizarding world at large.

In the morning Albus left for the Ministry to speak with Cornelius. His plan was quite simple. He would tip the Minister off to the fact that Harry was responsible for the collapse of the wards around the Ministry. His previous experience with Cornelius was more than enough for him to predict the man's blunt reaction. A team of Aurors would no doubt be dispatched with little time wasted. He would then rescue Harry thus endearing himself to the boy.

As he made his way through the maze of corridors that made up the Ministry, he tried to find a way to mitigate the one weakness of his plan. His only real concern was if Cornelius would try to keep Albus from participating. It wouldn't ruin his plan but it could make things more difficult especially if Amelia Bones got involved.

"Good morning Marie. Is Cornelius available?" Albus asked putting on his best 'I'm your favorite grandfather' mask.

Marie, a slight witch of average looks who was nearing middle age, looked up and smiled at her former headmaster. "Of course headmaster, please wait just a moment."

She got up and scurried into the office. Albus could hear the woman speaking softly to Cornelius before she bustled out once again. This time, she remained standing by the door holding it open. "You can go right in headmaster." Once Albus was inside she closed the door softly and returned to her desk.

Cornelius kept his head down and shuffled papers trying to appear both busy and important until he heard the door click shut. Convinced that Albus understood that he was taking precious time to speak with the much older man, Cornelius straightened the stack of useless memos and looked up. "Albus, what can I do for you today? As you can see I'm rather busy…"

Since the death of Voldemort, it had been much easier for Albus to once again influence the Minister. He hoped today would not be an exception to that rule. "Actually Cornelius I come with news that you will find most interesting. It is regarding the collapse of the Ministry's wards."

Now Cornelius really did perk up. If Albus had figured out what had happened or who was behind it, it would be great press and sure to boost his popularity. Amelia Bones had even gone so far as to close the investigation. It was ludicrous to think that the Veil of Death was responsible. He'd had to work hard to make sure the press never learned of the findings.

A pale pudgy hand waved imperially towards an open chair. "Well don't just stand there, please sit down and tell me what you know."

A not so small part of Albus wanted to smack the man down to his rightful place for that gesture. How dare the man wave him to a chair as he if was granting an audience? It wasn't the first time that Albus wondered why he himself had never run for the office. Yes headmaster of Hogwarts was influential but what he could do with the power of the Ministry behind him was staggering. Ah well, it's too late to change tracks now.

"Thank you Cornelius. I learned earlier today from a contact within the Unspeakables that the person responsible for the failure of the wards is none other than Harry Potter, the younger son of James Potter."

"What? How could a boy accomplish something like that? Are you sure your contact wasn't just having a laugh?"

Now it was time for Albus to lie. In truth, Harry was connected to the failure of the wards only in that he activated the Veil but also Albus had no idea how powerful the boy really was. For this to work, Cornelius needed to see that Harry was as powerful as Albus himself. "I fear that is not the case. In truth, the boy is nearly as powerful as I am."

Cornelius paled and his mind began to careen in directions that Albus hadn't intended. "If he's that powerful than we need to put an end to his threat before he becomes another You-Know-Who. I'll dispatch my personal Aurors immediately. Do you know where he is hiding out?"

"Yes but Cornelius if Harry is as powerful as I suspect than it may be best if I go with. Your Aurors while being extremely capable may simply not be powerful enough." It would be so much easier if he could go with and bring Harry in and then serve as a lifeline to get him remanded to Hogwarts for the time being. Once there, he would have all the time he needed to mold Harry into the figure that the wizarding world needed to lead it into the future.

"Are you sure Albus? I wouldn't want to put you in danger, especially now that You-Know-Who is gone. You deserve to enjoy a nice quiet retirement." Perhaps he should give some special instructions to his Aurors, if Albus and Potter could destroy each other than there would be no one within the wizarding world that could ever take his position. Of course, he would be known as the Minister who stopped the rising threat of a new dark lord, historians would be writing about him for centuries.

Albus was not blind. He could see how eager Cornelius was for him to go along. The man probably expected or hoped that there would be some great battle that would claim the life of the great Albus Dumbledore. Cornelius would probably have many wonderful things to say about his long time friend at the wake and then celebrate in the privacy of his home that the great meddler was forever out of his hair. Too bad for Cornelius that scenario was not very likely. Even if Harry had gotten training from the Unspeakables, he would never be a match for all the years of experience that Albus had. Plus, he didn't want to fight the boy, but a small skirmish would make it easier to bring him under his sway at Hogwarts.

"It is for the greater good. We can't take the risk of another dark lord rising so soon. While I have every confidence in your Aurors, I would feel much more comfortable if I were to go along."

Cornelius pretended to give the matter some further thought before coming to his decision. He stood up and moved to stand next to Albus. "It pains me to admit it, but you might be right. But you must be careful old friend; the wizarding world can't afford to lose you."

Albus was thankful that he wasn't eating anything because he might've been sick. Cornelius was pouring it on way to thick now. "I will do everything I can to see this end peacefully. With luck, we will be able to capture Harry and bring him back to the Light before he is lost to us forever."

"Of course, the Potter family has already suffered so much for this war." Cornelius paused for a moment gathering his thoughts and finalizing his plan. "When and where would you like to meet my team?" He would have to give some private instructions to the men. Perhaps a stray spell or two would be enough to set off a battle between Albus and Harry. If Albus survived and was victorious, he could always cover up the fact the Harry was a rising dark lord and paint Albus as a murderer. It would certainly generate scandal and enough people would buy the story that Albus would never be a threat to him again.

"I think Hogsmeade would be best and please have them there by noon tomorrow. I will make sure that we have port keys to take us to Suffolk." Albus stood and prepared to leave. He'd had as much as he could stand for the time being of Cornelius Fudge, Idiot of Magic.

**October ****18****th****London UK**

James Potter appeared outside of Sirius' flat with a soft pop. He had to get out of his house. The situation with Jason hadn't gotten any better and the looks that Daniel and Teal'c kept giving him weren't helping matters any. The frown that Teal'c wore made it quite clear what he thought of James and his behavior. Daniel's response was more subtle but no less disapproving. The hurt look from Jason didn't help either, it just made it worse. James was the one who had been wronged, not Jason. If anyone had a right to be angry it was him.

That was how he found himself outside of Sirius' flat that morning. Sirius would make him laugh, help him relax. He just needed to be somewhere where everyone wasn't against him or glaring at him. So it was that he knocked on Sirius' door a little more energetically than absolutely necessary.

A moment later and just as he'd raised his hand to knock again, the door opened. Sirius was standing there looking like he was still half asleep. His longish hair was disheveled and he was wearing pajama bottoms on a t-shirt. "James? What's going on?"

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" James asked cheerfully.

Sirius studied James for a moment, debating whether he wanted to entertain his friend. Finally, he decided that he couldn't turn him away. "Fine, what time is it anyway?"

James stepped passed his friend and into the flat while laughing at Sirius' question. Only Sirius could make someone arriving at 10am seem like an affront. "It's after 10, Sirius. Late night? You're alone aren't you?"

His friend didn't say anything. The man just kind of shuffled into the kitchen grumbling under his breath about rude friends showing up at the crack of dawn. It wasn't until after he had a cup of coffee in him and a second sitting in front of him that he finally spoke. "No, I don't have anyone here. If I did, I would never have let you in."

A roll of his eyes was the only response that James bothered to give. "Well I apologize for waking you up so early. I didn't realize that I'd be putting you out."

Now that he was awake, Sirius began to wonder what exactly James was doing here. It wasn't that they didn't have coffee in the morning but he knew that Jason was back. "Why are you here? Why aren't you with Jason?"

James just grabbed a cushion from the sofa he was lying on and covered his face.

Sirius frowned when he heard James let out a loud scream of annoyance.

"Wait, you're not still angry with Jason are you? I thought you said he apologized." It had taken hours for Sirius to calm his friend down that first day after he spoke to Jason. What he couldn't understand is why James was still angry.

"Yes I'm bloody angry. Why shouldn't I be?! He still won't tell me where he was or what he's been doing? All I get are half-truths or claims of secrecy." James argued. Every time he heard the excuse, it just made him angry all over again, like stoking the dying embers of a fire to get it to flare once again.

"Don't start yelling at me!" Sirius said sharply. "I'm not the one keeping this stupid feud going on. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought he apologized."

"Yes he did, but as I just said, he still won't tell me what's going on."

God, James could be dense at times, Sirius thought. He hadn't even been there but from the way that James described it, Jason had been very sincere in his apology. Now, it seemed like all James was doing was punishing not just Jason but himself as well. Just to add to his apparent stupidity, James was using secrecy as the reason for continuing his little tantrum. "Who exactly are you punishing by acting like this? You look miserable and I'm sure Jason isn't any better."

For a minute Sirius thought the only response he was going to get was a grunt but eventually James answered.

"Oh Jason is doing just fine. After all, he has new friends staying with us, why should he be having any problems?" James snatched his coffee cup from the table and took a long swallow before he continued. "They're no better than he is, keeping their secrets claiming national security or some such thing. As if the wizarding world cares about muggle national security. I mean now they have Jason working with them and he still won't say anything. It's like a big joke…" He trailed off. Once he started the words just came pouring out, a lot more than he intended.

"Fuck James you sound like a five year old. You're supposed to be the adult. The best thing that you could do now for yourself and for Jason is to just get over yourself. There are obviously some things that Jason can't share with you and I'm sure there's a good reason for it. Do you really want to ruin your relationship by being an ass?" He was tired of being comforting and giving advice. It was too early in the morning so perhaps the plain unvarnished truth was called for.

"What?!" James sat up in surprise. "How can you say that? He's the one who's keeping secrets."

It didn't shock him that James kept coming back to the secrets angle but he did find it very ironic. Given who they worked for, keeping secrets was second nature to them. Maybe James had forgotten what it is like to be on the other end or maybe he hadn't even looked at it objectively enough to realize that he did the same thing as Jason every day.

James didn't like the grin that he was seeing on Sirius' face. Nothing good ever came from the man when he was grinning like that.

"So tell me this, do you tell Thomas about work and what you do on a day-to-day basis?" Sirius already knew the answer but hopefully it would show James just how hypocritical he was being in demanding answers from Jason that he wasn't able to give. Especially when he did the same thing with Thomas and anyone outside of the Unspeakables.

"Of course not, Thomas knows I work for the Unspeakables so he doesn't…" James trailed off again and almost immediately began to feel like a first class ass. It didn't take a genius to see where Sirius was going.

"He doesn't what James?" Sirius pressed his friend. Already he could tell that it was sinking in but at this point he was too frustrated to take a chance on him wiggling out of the realization.

More softly than before James said "He doesn't ask because he knows I can't tell him." The energy to fight leeched out of him. Now that the realization was forced on him, James couldn't stop the wave of guilt that followed. "God could I be more of a jerk? No wonder everyone but Jason has been glaring at me."

Now that James had seen the light so to speak, Sirius could take pity on his friend. "James was this really about Jason keeping a secret? Because honestly it's not like you to hold a grudge."

James scrubbed at his face tiredly. He really didn't know what his problem was but Sirius was right and he couldn't be so blind as to ignore the obvious correlation to his own job. "I don't know."

"Well, what's going to happen to Jason now that he's almost fully recovered?" Even if he never was as close to Jason as he would've liked, that didn't mean that Sirius didn't keep tabs on him.

"Shit…" James muttered. That's why he was so upset. John had already told him that Jason would be going back to whatever they were working on.

Sirius just looked at James questioningly. Then he scowled when he realized his coffee cup was empty so he absently waved his wand conjuring a bottle of water.

"Jason will be going back with John or at a minimum will be meeting up with John once he's 100 again."

"Maybe that's why you've been so upset. You know he's going to be in danger and there is nothing you can do to help and to make it even worse you don't even know where he'll be or what he will be working on." Sirius mused softly. In truth, he wasn't any more comfortable with the situation than James was but he was a little more removed from everything so he could look at it with less emotion.

"I don't know maybe. I just got him back and now he's going to be leaving again. I just…I don't know what to do. I mean I know he's almost an adult but he could be hurt or killed and I may never know. You saw that message that he sent, he was saying goodbye."

There wasn't anything Sirius could say to that. Well, there was nothing he could say that would help anyway. The sad fact was that it was true for any of them. Without Voldemort the wizarding world was much safer than it used to be but there was always the chance that one of their investigations would turn up something that they couldn't handle. Somehow he didn't think that would comfort James at this point. In the end, he decided he couldn't go wrong with a little schmaltz.

"If you're that worried about him than you need to talk to him and end this stupid tantrum. He's not going to be here for long and do you want this hanging over you two until he comes back again?"

There was a look on wonder in James' eyes. "Who are you and what have you done with my friend?"

"Shut up!"

**Potter/Sheppard Household ****Suffolk, UK**

Jason was getting ready to practice with Teal'c. If it hadn't been for the presence of SG-1 he probably would've gone insane. His dad was still angry, refusing to speak with him and both John and Carson had to go back to Colorado to prepare for the return to Atlantis. At the time, they decided it would be better for Jason to continue to rest at home and regain his strength.

It hadn't been all bad though; the members of SG-1 were easy enough to get along with. Really, there were only two that he had any significant contact with, Daniel Jackson and Teal'c. That isn't to say that the other two were never around but it seemed like they were doing more research in the field, checking out the clues and physically searching for the cache of Ancient technology.

John never mentioned anything before he left but Jason had gotten the distinct impression that SG-1 was staying with them for more reasons than Jason's ability to translate the Ancient language. He knew his brother well enough to know when he was being over protective. For some reason, SG-1 was there to keep an eye on him or to protect him. Jason really hoped it was to keep an eye on him because after being in Atlantis it would be nice to not have to worry about being attacked.

Once he'd been released from his forced bed rest, Jason realized how weak he felt. It was probably a combination of being so sick and the amount of time he was stuck in bed. Teal'c had been more than willing to help Jason regain his strength. Unfortunately for Jason, he didn't realize what he was getting himself into when he accepted the help.

That was how Jason found himself once again in the basement of their home getting ready to be tossed around the room. He was dressed in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Teal'c came down the stairs shortly after he'd finished warming up. For the next hour, Teal'c sparred with Jason helping him to practice the forms that he was already comfortable with in addition to some of the techniques that were taught to Jaffa warriors.

Finally, Jason had to stop and rest. He slumped to the floor against the wall and mopped the sweat from his face with a soft towel. He was breathing hard and absently rubbing a newly acquired bruise on his left thigh.

Teal'c watched with some concern. "Perhaps we should stop Jason Sheppard. I do not wish for you to injure yourself."

Jason just nodded wearily. He wasn't going to argue it would have been silly when all it would take is a single look to prove that he wasn't ready to practice any more.

Teal'c nodded as well, pleased that Jason had recognized his own limits and was not pushing himself past them. There was a time and place for such actions but practice was not one of them. "I am most impressed with your skills Jason Sheppard. You honor your brother by showing such strength."

"How did you do it?" Jason asked softly, completely disregarding Teal'c previous statement.

"To what are you referring?"

Jason studied the larger man. In many ways, Teal'c was a man of contradictions. He spent most of his life enslaved by the Goa'uld bred to a life of cruel violence and yet the man was an honorable warrior who fought to free his people and all those who were oppressed. He could've given up and yet he continued the struggle despite the odds against him.

In the short time they'd known each other, Jason had learned a lot about the fight against the Goa'uld. He'd even shared his experience with the Wraith.

"I…The Wraith…I know John and Elizabeth are expecting me to be key somehow in beating them. But how am I supposed to do something that the Ancients couldn't even do?" Jason sounded almost despairing. He wasn't giving up but it seemed like such an impossible task.

"I see. You speak of the fight against the Goa'uld." Teal'c waited for Jason to nod. "It was difficult but together with my friends and comrades we were able to defeat them. I have met your brother and I have no doubt that he will be with you every step of the way." Despite their work out, Teal'c didn't look winded or tired. Instead, he continued to stand with his hands clasped behind his back.

"But…"

"We all have roles to play some large and some small. Whatever the role you will play in the battle against the Wraith, there will be others with you just as important, just as critical to the battle. I could never have beaten the Goa'uld on my own but through the SGC I found allies that aided us in our battles."

The spent some more time talking about the battle and what Jason felt was his responsibility. Teal'c had been in a similar position, one of the first Jaffa to turn against their masters. He was able to help Jason understand that regardless of how things may look; the battle was never his alone. If the Wraith were to be defeated it would be a result of the efforts of many individuals and not just him.

Together they walked back upstairs. After a quick breakfast, Jason went into the den to work with Daniel. Like Teal'c, Daniel also had much in common with Jason. Both had lost their parents, though Daniel was not fortunate enough to have other family willing to take care of him. A lack of formal military training was something else they shared but in Daniel's case he'd received more on-the-job training in weapons than most career soldiers.

Together, the two had been working on translating more of the journals that had been downloaded from the lab worlds as well as the information. It was nice being able to work with someone and talk about what they were translating. The work had been somewhat lonely in Atlantis because Elizabeth was really the only one qualified to work on the translations with him and she was occupied with running the expedition.

Recently, Daniel had even found a reference to Malus in the documentation describing the UK site. They were going to send the information back to the SGC because Elizabeth and John would need to know that Jason may be delayed in returning to Atlantis while they followed up on the lead.

"How are you doing?" Daniel asked. SG-1 hadn't been briefed on how Jason had been treated but they had been informed of Jason's transformation. Even amongst the SGC, SG-1 and Daniel in particular had more knowledge and experience with the Ancients than anyone else.

Jason was grateful for Teal'c and Daniel. The only things they weren't cleared for were Torchwood and the wizarding world. Unfortunately, it only made his dad angrier when he learned that SG-1 knew what was going on but Jason couldn't tell him anything of substance.

"I don't know. I don't feel any different but at the same time it just feels like I've lost my family all over again."

"I don't understand." Daniel was surrounded by a veritable sea of empty coffee cups. There was another coffee cup in his hand but this one was still steaming so Jason could only assume that it was still fresh.

Jason stood up and started to pace around the den. The person he should really be talking about this with was his dad but Daniel was better than nothing. Jason's voice was soft and a little lost when he responded "What's left from my parents? Whatever happened changed my DNA. According to Carson, I'm a full blooded Ancient now."

Daniel understood. When he'd returned to mortal form after being an Ascended Ancient for a year, he had no memories, no knowledge of who he was. Still, he was human but he could understand the feeling of being disconnected. The experience had only reinforced something that he'd learned early on as he bounced from foster home to foster home. "Jason, I know something of what you are going through. You may not have the physical DNA of your parents anymore but family isn't just those you are related to, it's who you chose to love."

"I know, I mean John isn't my biological brother but that doesn't matter because he is in every other way that matters. Believe me when I say that it was tough to believe at first when I learned I was adopted. It's different now. Somehow it just feels like I'm alone. There are no other Ancients left as far as we know."

"That's true but you don't have to be alone. The Ancients that returned from Atlantis and the ones that stayed behind on Earth must have mixed with the rest of the humans; otherwise there wouldn't be any Ancient DNA in anyone. So while it is true you happen to be more unique than the average person, you can still get married, have kids and live a normal life."

Now Jason snorted. "Normal, you do remember the Wraith don't you? Normal is not something I'm going to have for quite a while, if ever. I'm not sure I really want it anyway. Normal would be so boring. Would you give up the SGC?"

Before Daniel could answer Jason added "Who knows, maybe I'll meet someone in the Pegasus galaxy. They certainly wouldn't be surprised by anything that goes on in Atlantis. Besides, I can't let John be the only Sheppard that McKay calls Captain Kirk."

**Outside the Potter/Sheppard Household Suffolk, UK**

Dumbledore hadn't wasted the night in idle rest. Once he'd returned from meeting with Cornelius, Albus sequestered himself in his office. There were some definite risks to this plan. Harry had been trained by the Unspeakables, so he was quite likely more proficient than the average Hogwarts graduate and if the prophecy was true than Harry would have a power level close to that of Voldemort.

At one time, Albus had been equal to Voldemort in power but as he'd aged, his power started to weaken. It was conceivable that Harry was more powerful than he was. If he decided to put up a fight, a backup force would be useful. The Aurors that Cornelius was providing were more ceremonial. In fact, they did not have any official authority or special training.

The answer was a simple one. The Order of the Phoenix had been idle since Voldemort's defeat and final destruction but there were many members that would still respond to his call. In order for this to work though, he could only use those that were most loyal to him. Some of the members, more than he would care to admit, were more likely to question his pursuit of a seventeen year old boy who hasn't even graduated from Hogwarts training with the Unspeakables or not.

It was a somber group that met with Albus that evening in his office. By necessity he only gave them the briefest of explanations. While he trusted their loyalty, Albus was reluctant to push them too far. As it was, there was only 15 people that he felt comfortable enough contacting. After everyone quieted down, he laid out his plan. The Order would only be called in if things went badly or Jason decided to put up a fight. At this many of those present scoffed, the idea of a mere boy challenging Albus Dumbledore was difficult if not impossible for them to take seriously. Despite that, they all agreed to be ready to use the portkeys Albus provided if he sent them the signal.

Even as Albus was laying down his backup plan, Cornelius was setting up his own contingency. Unknowingly mirroring Albus, Cornelius was meeting with the 6 man Auror detail that would be meeting up with Albus in Hogsmeade. In a move that would surprise many wizards and witches, he instructed his men to initiate a confrontation between Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore.

The opportunity to either get rid of or permanently discredit Albus was too great for Cornelius to pass up. Any battle that included Albus was sure to set off the warning monitors in the DMLE. Aurors would be dispatched and his men would have backup from the Ministry if necessary. His only other instruction was to make sure that the Potter boy did not survive. If he was truly a dark lord in the making than the wizarding world would be saved from having to deal with him and if he wasn't than he would be a sad victim of Albus Dumbledore's manipulations. At least that was the story that Cornelius was prepared to sell the papers.

So it was that the Aurors met up with Albus in Hogsmeade late that morning. After each person grasped firmly onto a length of rope provided by Albus, the portkey was activated and deposited them the front door of the Potter home in Suffolk.

**Ministry of Magic, London UK**

Croaker was tired and it was still morning. This time of year always seemed to bring him down. It was hard when so many of the days were cloudy and rainy. Not for the first time, he wondered if it wouldn't be better if he and his wife moved to a warmer climate that got less rain. Unfortunately, his job didn't allow breaks for the weather. That was how he found himself sitting in Amelia Bones' office.

The two were sitting on opposite sides of her desk. There was a pair of tea cups sitting untouched on the desk amidst a pile of paperwork.

Croaker eventually grew bored of the stare down and said drolly "Amelia as much as I appreciate the diversion from my work, what can I do for you?"

Amelia smiled slightly. She knew it was childish but she and Croaker had been in Hogwarts together and since that time had always been very competitive with each other. The stare-down was a favorite contest of theirs and it could always go either way but today she was the winner. "Perhaps I just wanted to visit with my old classmate."

The look that was directed at her was full of disbelief but her old friend gave no other reaction.

Mentally, she gave Croaker a point for this round. "I've heard that Jason Sheppard has returned to Suffolk. If possible I would like to speak with him."

For just a moment, the normally confident Croaker felt a stab of doubt. He'd thought this matter was settled weeks ago. Normally, he wouldn't have shared any information on their research with Amelia but given the circumstances and the collapse of the Ministry wards Croaker didn't want Jason to be accused of something he wasn't responsible for. Still, Amelia was never one to look for scapegoats. So he settled for "Why?"

Amelia smiled for the second time that morning. Despite the passage of time, there were some things about her old friend that would never change. Like herself, Croaker could be extremely protective of his people even the unofficial ones. She held up both her hands to pacify him. "Relax; I just want to get a better idea of what happened to him. I'm surprised you haven't grilled him yet."

Croaker just frowned. He'd wanted to question Jason thoroughly on exactly what happened to him after stepping through the veil. His curiosity had overwhelmed his common sense when he'd spoken to James about it. At the time, all he could see was a source for new and potentially invaluable knowledge. James had been very quick to disabuse him of that particular idea.

"You already tried didn't you?" Amelia asked now with a laugh. The frown on her friend's face was more than enough to tell her that he hadn't gotten any information or possibly hadn't even questioned Jason at all.

Reluctantly he nodded. "Yes. James wasn't too thrilled with me." Absently he rubbed his arm when James had hit him with a particularly nasty hex. "Trust me; he was most expressive about the matter."

"Well, the matter is officially closed but I would like to know if the Veil was reason behind the wards collapsing and more importantly, if it could happen again. Do you know what Jason's plans are? He is after all a legal adult now."

Croaker's barking laugh erupted from him. "You think James has let me anywhere near Jason after I wanted to question him? I imagine I won't see either of them for a few days or a week yet. All I do know is that boy has an incredible connection to his magic; it would be a shame if he stayed in the muggle world."

It was unusual for wizards or witches to leave the wizarding world. Most did not want to give up the comforts afforded them by magic, typically the only ones who left were muggleborns because they grew tired of the discrimination and prejudice they faced in the wizarding world.

"Would he truly leave?"

Croaker shrugged his shoulders before answering. "I don't really know. He's always seen the wizarding world as anachronistic and other than James, there is little to hold him here."

**Den of the ****Potter/Sheppard Household Suffolk, UK**

Jason and Daniel were working in the den when they heard a crashing noise followed by weapons fire and what Jason recognized as spells. Without waiting to see if Daniel followed, Jason rushed out of the room towards the front of the house where the noise was coming from.

Daniel didn't hesitate but instead of following immediately after Jason, he retrieved his radio.

"Prometheus come in. This is Daniel Jackson, I repeat come in." There was a note of urgency in his voice that was quite unusual for the normally calm and collected archaeologist.

There was only the briefest of pauses before the static on the radio was replaced by the voice of Colonel Prendergast. "We're reading you Dr. Jackson, what's your situation?"

"We are under attack. Can you beam us out?" Daniel was operating on the assumption that whoever was attacking would've brought a force large enough to subdue Teal'c and himself. Since he didn't know about the wizarding world, he was still unaware of Jason's abilities.

The pause before he got a response seemed like an eternity with the sounds of battle coming from the main entry room of the house.

"Negative Dr. Jackson, there is some form of energy field around the house. It shouldn't affect us beaming in reinforcements, but we are reluctant to try beaming you out."

"Ok, we'll try to hold out until reinforcements can get here, but hurry!"

"Roger that Dr. Jackson, we'll beam down security teams to your position as soon as they are ready."

**Front door of the Potter/Sheppard Household Suffolk, UK**

As he ran from the den, Jason concentrated and surrounded himself in a shell of magic that should absorb most attacks. The fact that he still heard fighting told him that Teal'c had somehow managed to hold off the wizards.

Jason skidded to a halt just inside the entryway. His eyes were quickly scanning for any sign of Teal'c and his mind was scrambling to figure out a reason for the wizards to be attacking. A high pitched whining noise and a flash of blue light caught his attention. Glancing in the direction showed Teal'c moving and dodging while holding a small metallic weapon that fired blue bolts of some sort, it was a Zat gun. Jason knew that one shot could stun a man, two would kill him and a third shot would disintegrate the body.

As of yet, none of the combatants had noticed Jason's arrival. So he was able to roll closer towards Teal'c position. Jason ended the maneuver with both hands placed firmly on the floor. His eyes flashed and the shield that was hugging his body pulsed outward until it was large enough to encompass both Teal'c and himself.

After realizing that the energy field was protecting him, Teal'c looked over and found Jason Sheppard. He had seen many strange and wondrous sights during his travels with SG-1 but the only time he'd seen someone eyes glow was when they were possessed by a Goa'uld. The only thing that stopped him from attacking Jason was the fact that his eyes were glowing a soothing blue-green color rather than gold and there was no opportunity for a Goa'uld to have made Jason a host. "Jason Sheppard, go I will hold these men off while you escape."

Jason just ignored the man. He was trying to get a better idea of the attackers even as he poured more energy into the shield. There were 6 men that looked to be his dad's age and dressed in some sort of formal uniform. The 7th was an old man with a long white beard and bright purple and blue robes covered with stars and moons. The old man seemed familiar but Jason couldn't place him.

Teal'c resolved himself to the fact that Jason wouldn't retreat and spent the time trying to neutralize their attackers. Now that he was protected by the shield, he could concentrate. The blue shots from his Zat were much more accurate causing the attackers to dodge out of the way. But most of them seemed to have a small shield that could absorb the energy of the Zat.

Albus was flustered; the situation was rapidly getting out of his control. If he was honest with himself, he'd admit he'd lost control of the situation when Fudge's men began to attack as soon as the door was opened. The man on the other side wasn't even Harry Potter. Harry had just made an appearance seconds ago and erected some sort of shield the likes of which Albus had never seen before and yet it seemed to be absorbing everything sent against it.

Ultimately, Albus decided that it would be better if he removed himself from the situation and let Cornelius deal with the fallout. Without saying a word, Albus apparate out.

Jason sensed a change in the air pressure just as Albus disappeared with a soft crack. Some instinct told him that the old man was behind this whole fiasco. There was no way in hell he was letting him get away. He unknowingly reached out with his now enhanced senses and magic and followed the trail that the old man was leaving. In a split second before the old man rematerialized at his destination, Jason's power surged, his eyes become a solid blue-green and he screamed with the effort.

The fabric of reality twisted and ripped open. Everyone stopped, their attention drawn to the hole that filled a corner of the room. The edges were writhing as if struggling to repair the damage. Suddenly, a blue-green hand easily the size of a grown man emerged from the hole along with the struggling form of Albus Dumbledore. As soon as Albus was back in the home, he collapsed to his knees and threw up.

Jason was breathing hard. He didn't know how he did it but whatever he'd done had taken a lot of energy and hurt like a bitch.

Teal'c noticed that the shield started to collapse and moved closer to Jason.

The Aurors also noticed as well. 5 of them spread out across the room and started to hit it from three sides while the last one went to check on Dumbledore.

"Jason!" Daniel called out sharply. He had his own Zat gun and started to fire at the unsuspecting Aurors as he made his way towards Jason and Teal'c. The blue lightning struck two of the Aurors. Both men cried out and collapsed to the floor.

Albus struggled to his feet, fury etched into his features. How dare this boy challenge his power! For the first time in many years, Albus raised his wand in anger and lashed out. His power rolled off him in waves as a the few pieces of furniture that had yet to be destroyed morphed into grey furred timber wolves that pounced on the shield.

The shield almost buckled under the continued onslaught of spells and the claws and fangs of the wolves. With a massive surge of power, Jason pushed outward. The shield pulsed in time with Jason's heart, each beat pushing it out further until it was at its original size once again.

In a flash, Jason remembered the cost the last time his home had been invaded. This time, it was men instead of robotic monstrosities but the threat was no less. As he did then, Jason channeled his magic down through his arms and into his hands. Albus and the Aurors took a step back from this unusual display.

Teal'c took the opportunity to Zat two of the Aurors.

The Aurors were only down for seconds before they were _enervated_ by their comrades.

Jason slammed his hands together. The massed energy around each hand combined and exploded outwards with a massive boom. The windows in the room shattered and everyone around Jason including Teal'c and Daniel were thrown from their feet by the shockwave. The magical wolves being much closer stood no chance against the explosion and were destroyed.

Even as everyone regained their feet Jason was making grasping gestures with his hands. From the front wall, two giant hands composed of stone and wood reached out and grabbed the nearest Aurors. Again, Jason clapped his hands together and the much larger replicas did the same. The sound of bones breaking was audible even over the cry of spells. The two Aurors lay on the ground motionless.

"Outside, get outside the house!" Albus ordered.

Almost immediately after he and the remaining Aurors retreated to the front yard, Albus noticed a flash of white light.

Inside the house, Daniel received a radio message. "Dr. Jackson, reinforcements have just beamed in. We are dispatching a wing of F-302s for ground suppression."

Albus panicked when he saw 8 men appear in a flash of white light. He sensed no magic in any of them, but how could muggles apparate. In desperation, he activated his signal to call in the Order of the Phoenix.

The reinforcements quickly backed away and took cover while taking aim with their P90s. Automatic fire was added to the din and screams could be heard from neighbors now that the battle was in plain sight.

Teal'c dove through a broken window, rolling as he landed and letting loose a barrage of Zat fire that left 2 of the remaining Aurors stunned. Their comrades were unable to revive them given the hail of gunfire that was forcing them away from the home.

Jason and Daniel stood side by side in the doorway of the home. Daniel's Zat fire was being absorbed by Albus' shield. Jason's eyes flared once again, the light radiating from them like twin beacons. In response the sky began to darken and thunder rumbled ominously.

Dumbledore transfigured more wolves and sent them at the soldiers hoping to distract them long enough for his Order to arrive. He was only dimly aware of the coming storm. Then he felt it, the small vibration in his Phoenix charm that signaled whenever one of his portkeys were activated.

Thunder rumbled again, loud enough to rattle the windows in the surrounding homes. It was accompanied by a blinding flash of lightning that arced unerringly down towards Jason's outstretched hand. On impact Jason reflected the deadly electricity towards the 2 remaining Aurors.

The lead Auror dove out of the way but his companion was struck directly in the chest.

The Aurora's scream was cut off almost immediately. His body jerked and writhed as the electricity surged through him and into the ground. Smoke wafted up from his clothes and blood began to trickle from both his ears and his nose.

A series of pops brought everyone back into focus. "The boy, he is the biggest threat!" Called Albus and there was no mistaking the unstated directive.

However before the Order could react, two of them were cut down by gunfire from the soldiers. Seeing two of their number on the ground with blood pumping freely from their wounds shocked the remaining Order members into action, they quickly moved or conjured cover while others started throwing spells far more deadly than the standard _stupefy_.

Three soldiers were forced from the cover by a pair of blasting curses. As soon as they tried to move to new cover, they were cut down by various curses. They never even had a chance to scream. Two collapsed while clutching at their throats trying to stem the blood loss. The third died immediately having been caught across his eyes by a powerful bone crusher curse.

Lightning bolts started raining down on Jason only to arc towards the nearest target. Each lightning strike was accompanied by a deafening boom. One Order member fell to a lightning bolt and others were forced to dodge or hide behind the strongest shields they could create.

Just then a pair of children and their mother screamed. They'd been returning home only to have their car stalled by a stray spell. Afraid for the lives of her children, the mother, a young blond woman tried to sneak them out on the far side of the car.

Sadly, her youngest, a 4 year old girl screamed when she saw the three soldiers die. In the heat of battle, the scream drew the attention of two Order members who reacted on instinct. Before they even realized who they were firing on a pair of explosions went off under the feet of the young family.

Teal'c and Daniel saw the family die. Teal'c emerged from cover and ran towards the murderers. Daniel covered Teal's attack with a steady barrage of Zat fire. Teal'c leapt and tackled the two men. With an angry growl, he snapped the neck of one and moved to finish off the second.

Jason beat him to it. He added his own magic to the next lightning bolt and a beam of raw furious power slammed into the man. For just a moment the man seemed to brighten, every aspect of his being taking on a sharper focus before he simply faded into nothingness.

Albus seeing two more of his Order fall started to focus on Jason to the exclusion of all else. More animals and golems began to beat on the shield or distract the soldiers allowing Albus to add his own spells to try and bring down the blasted barrier.

**Ministry of Magic, London UK**

Croaker was still in Amelia's office when alarms began blaring in her office and an Unspeakable barged in. "Sir there is a massive magical battle going on in Suffolk. We haven't seen a disturbance this strong since London in '91."

"Suffolk? Shit, that has to be Jason. Amelia we might need your help on this one, I recommend a full squad. Can I use your floo; I need to contact Sirius Black." Croaker said hurriedly.

Amelia was out of her chair and leaving the office almost immediately to organize the Aurors and arrange portkeys. She only paused long enough to wave her friend towards her floo.

"Sirius Black! Are you there?!" Croaker called urgently through the floo.

"Croaker, this is my day off. What do you want?" Sirius replied curiously.

"We are registering a Level 4 magical battle in Suffolk. It has to be Jason. I'm organizing a squad of our agents and of Aurors. We will be leaving momentarily."

Sirius blanched and suddenly disappeared from the fire only to be replaced by James. "We'll meet you there!"

Croaker swore again. He was hoping that James would have been helping Jason with whatever was going on. "You, are the men ready?" It was standard procedure for an event of this magnitude to have a full squad.

"Yes sir, everything is all set."

Amelia came rushing back in. "Go on ahead; we will only be a few minutes behind you."

**Potter/Sheppard Household Suffolk, UK**

Police were showing up along with military trucks. After receiving numerous phone calls describing some kind of raging street battle, the police called in for help from the Lakenheath Air Force base.

"Throw down your weapons or we will open fire!" A faceless voice called out over a loudspeaker.

Jason saw the military deploying and knew if he didn't do something, he along with everyone else from the Prometheus could easily be killed.

Before he could act there were a series of pops and another thirty wizards appeared.

"Jason!"

Jason turned and saw his dad running and dodging spells in an effort to reach him. He felt a frisson of fear spike through him when a spell nearly caught his dad in the back. Something was needed to end this without massive bloodshed on both sides, more than there was already. He would've used the mass stunner that he'd used back in the Atlantis cafeteria but he doubted that it would affect the wizards. Then he remembered something from John.

His eyes glowed brightly as he called on more power. The sky overhead grew darker until the clouds were an inky black and lightning could be seen arcing between them. The power of the storm continued to grow until a flash of light signaled that arrival of a massive bolt. The light itself was blinding and the accompanying clap of thunder was louder than a sonic boom. All over the area windows shattered, car alarms blared and people collapsed their senses overwhelmed by the visual and aural assault.

Only Jason and Daniel were unaffected protected as they were by his shield.

As much as Daniel wanted to ask questions, now was not the time. "Umm…Jason, can you disarm those people?"

Jason nodded and waved his hand casting a strong summoning charm. A hail of wands flew towards them. He waved his hand again and the wands were encased in a small sphere of his magic.

Teal'c was one of the first to recover and he quickly returned to Jason and Daniel's side. "Are you well?"

Jason just nodded again and moved over to check on James.

Over the course of the next 10 minutes, everyone began to wakeup. Jason left the new arrivals alone but he restrained the only remaining member of Fudge's Aurors, Dumbledore, and the Order members. For once, he was happy to be a teenager still; this was going to be a huge mess to clean up.


	14. The Best Laid Plans Part 1

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

**A/N: ****Just a heads-up, this will not be turning into a heavy angst ****fic**** tho****ugh**** this chapter has more of that feeling**** Harry/Jason is only 18 and in my mind he could be pretty shaken by the events from the previous chapter. Also, this ended up running much longer than I expected so Dumbledore's interrogation will be next chapter.**

**Chapter ****1****4 ****The Best Laid Plans pt.1 **

**October ****18****th, ****Wraith Hive Ship, Pegasus Galaxy**

Shezz'la looked around the large chamber with boredom. It had been weeks since the first attack on the Lantians had ended and still the other Wraith factions continued to do nothing. True, there had been a few Hive ships that had joined his growing fleet but he would need more strength behind him if he was to place the remaining Wraith under his control.

Already the other Wraith Lords were forming their own armadas and staking claims to portions of the galaxy. At this rate, the human cattle would be virtually wiped out as they were culled at fantastic numbers to feed the Wraith hordes. While the plight of the humans did not concern Shezz'la, what did concern him was the risk to the food supply. If the other populations were wiped out the Wraith Lords could band together to raid his territory.

The Lantians and their human servants would provide the strategic advantage he was searching for. Not only would they weaken the other Wraith Lords but they would be forced to complete the weapon. Once they were sufficiently weakened, Shezz'la was confident that his forces would be able to breach their defenses and seize the weapon.

Shezz'la's contemplations were interrupted by the arrival of one of his commanders. Straightening slightly in his chair, he projected an aura of impatient power. Over the centuries, his followers had learned to only come before him with critical news. Each was allowed to hold a small portion of power, enough to keep them satisfied and at the same time tie them to him because he was willing to take that power away at the first sign of failure.

The commander bowed his head respectfully and waited for Shezz'la to address him.

"Have the Lantians made any moves since the end of the attack?" Shezz'la's voice was low with an underlying growl that was present in many of the Wraith.

The commander shook his head in the negative before answering. "No, there have been no reprisals against any Wraith vessels or holdings. None of our sensors at the lab worlds have shown any activity. There has been no gate activity and none of the labs themselves have been accessed."

Shezz'la couldn't help but wonder what the Lantians were waiting for. Certainly their weapons and defenses were superior to anything the Wraith currently had available even if they were still subject to the overwhelming numbers of the Wraith. As before, they would eventually be crushed unless they were able to complete the weapon.

"There is more. I now believe that they may have taken the power source from the last lab world they visited. Our sensor readings show a massive power surge moving from the lab to the gate before disappearing. It is possible that without the primary power supply, we may be able to breach the structure."

"Perhaps the information we obtained from the human prisoners was not false after all." Shezz'la mused softly. His eyes moved from the commander to the ceiling as he considered the information.

The commander simply stood waiting for Shezz'la to return his attention. More than one Wraith had been punished for being too inquisitive. Unlike Shezz'la he would not move his gaze.

"The two prisoners showed remarkable resistance but ultimately, their minds were broken. Once they learned their place, they admitted that most of Atlantis' population was human with only a handful of Lantians. It is the only explanation for their lack of response. Their numbers must be too small to mount an attack."

"What would you have us do?"

This could alter his plans. It was possible that with their limited numbers the Lantians would be content to sit behind their city shield and wait for the Wraith to wage a civil war. Yet, it was unlike them to leave the humans of this galaxy to such a fate. It was also possible that the Lantians had lost much of their technological prowess. Why else would they feel the need to scavenge a power source from one of their own facilities? They should have had no difficulty in manufacturing additional power sources; it had been one of the areas that had caused the most consternation amongst the Wraith during the last great siege. No matter the firepower aimed at the city, the power levels never seemed to fall.

"We need something that will spark them into action. The Lantians of old were very protective of their people. Perhaps, they would like our prisoners returned to them."

Of course, the Lantians would not be happy with the condition of the two bodies. Neither had been fed upon, it had been more enjoyable to break their minds and rip their defiance from them. Shezz'la knew that their faces were frozen in a rictus of pain and horror. He knew because it brought him great pleasure remembering as their hold on sanity slipped and they sank into the mire of their own fears and self-destructive impulses.

"Dispatch a cruiser; have them deposit the carcasses in space near the planet. Attach transmitters to them to ensure that the Lantians find our gift to them."

The commander didn't bother to stop the grin of approval from forming. This was why he continued to follow Shezz'la. He knew that there was more to existence than the mere satiation of hunger. Crushing your enemies and extinguishing any hope of resistance was almost as satisfying as ripping the life from the human cattle. "It will be done."

**October ****18****th, **Potter/Sheppard Home, Suffolk, UK 

James didn't waste any time. In seconds after regaining consciousness he rushed over to Jason and Daniel. There wasn't even time to say anything before he grabbed Jason in a bone crushing hug.

Jason stiffened for just an instant in surprise but he quickly relaxed into the embrace. He felt lighter; the gloom that had been hanging over him these last few days lifted in the instant James grabbed him. If he'd been confused or unsure at all, it was put to rest immediately when he head James mutter softly.

"Jason, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry." He repeated it a few times for good measure but Jason didn't need to hear anything else. For now, he could forget what had just happened, what he'd been forced to do. For now, he could just be content that this piece of his life was ok.

James finally released Jason but it was only to check him for injuries. His hands quickly traveled the length of Jason's body, patting him down, checking for cuts and any other damage.

Jason protested softly "Dad I'm ok really."

The only response he got was another tight hug from James who apparently felt no shame in such a public display. Of course, most people were just now regaining their feet and there wasn't anyone paying attention to them.

"Dad can you put some anti-apparition wards? I don't think we want any of the wizards or witches leaving."

James nodded and spent a minute making slow passes with his wand while incanting softly. There was a soft flash of light at the end followed by James' nod.

Daniel saw Teal'c approach them. "Teal'c are you ok?" Unlike Daniel, Teal'c had been outside Jason's shield so he was stunned, just like everyone else.

Teal'c had not yet answered when Jason began to add his own apologies. "Oh god, I'm sorry Teal'c. I forgot you were outside the shield. I should have done something. I should…"

"Peace Jason Sheppard. I am unharmed and your actions may have saved a great many lives today."

"But still…" Jason started to argue.

"No as I said, I am unharmed. How then could your actions be wrong? Could not have more people died if you had delayed taking action?" Teal'c was implacable. He'd seen far more battles than he would care to admit and he had lost far too many friends and comrades. This was not a time for recriminations. "I must admit to some curiosity over the nature of our attackers and your own powers."

Jason wanted to argue but even now, the effects of the adrenalin that had been coursing through him during the battle were fading. Physically, he just didn't feel up to trying to convince Teal'c that there was more he could've done. "If no one minds, I need to sit down."

James looked concerned at hearing the haggard voice of his son. Afraid that Jason would collapse more than sit, James helped ease him to the ground so that Jason could sit on the front stair. His arm remained firmly around Jason's shoulder providing him any comfort and strength that he needed.

Daniel and Teal'c moved off to speak with the military. Someone needed to take charge of this mess and for now; they were the best ones for the job. The group from the Prometheus wasn't large enough and unless they wanted to make the existence of the ship known to everyone here, then they didn't have the facilities to hold these people.

Jason looked around at the wizards and witches that were arguing with the soldiers that were placing them all in restraints. It was impossible to miss the number of bodies that littered the yard and street, many of whom had scorched clothing from the lightning he'd been using.

He wanted to be sick. He'd killed these people. What did that make him? Was he monster like the Wraith? Jason didn't want to think about it, couldn't think about it because if he did, he might just break down.

"Jason what happened? Why were all these wizards here?" James had recognized Dumbledore as well as Fudge's personal Auror detachment. For the life of him though he couldn't come up with a reason for their being at his home much less attacking his son.

Jason shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Daniel and I were working in the den when we heard something from the front door. There was some kind of explosion and it sounded like someone was attacking. By the time I got there, Teal'c was being attacked by 6 wizards all wearing identical uniforms and the old guy over there."

As James listened, his anger grew. It was true he didn't know Teal'c well, but the little he did know of the man told him that he never would've started the battle. It was more than likely that either Dumbledore or Fudge's men started the whole thing. It still didn't answer why and Jason didn't seem to know.

Jason was thankful that James didn't ask for too many details. He didn't want to tell him what he'd done because he was afraid of the look he would see on his dad's face. Right now he didn't think he could handle the disappointment or fear that would no doubt result. How could anyone who knew the truth not look at him like that?

James wasn't stupid. He knew that there was a lot that Jason was leaving out but this wasn't the time or the place to make him relive everything again.

"Jason, James…" Daniel interrupted their discussion. Standing by his side were Teal'c and who Jason assumed was the leader of the military group that had arrived. "This is Captain Reynolds."

The man was in his early 30s with short blond hair and grey eyes. His face was weathered and lined like he'd seen too much hardship during his time in the army. "I understand from Dr. Jackson that you might be familiar with the people involved."

Jason shook his head. "Uhh, not really. I mean other than my dad here there are only two other people I recognize." Jason pointed to Sirius Black and Croaker. He wasn't sure what to do about the fact that they were wizards.

Captain Reynolds nodded and issued a curt order to have everyone rounded up. "Is there anything else I need to know? I don't want to put my men or any civilians at risk."

James could see that Jason was uncertain of what to do. He couldn't blame him, the wizarding world was a well-kept secret but whatever had happened here today had certainly fucked that up. If anyone was going to break the law, it should be him. "Captain this is going to be hard to believe but…" James went on to give a brief description of the wizarding world and the capabilities of witches and wizards.

The Captain was understandably skeptical until James had given him a demonstration, conjuring a baseball and then transfiguring it into a small rabbit. "But, without their wands the average witch or wizard is powerless." This last was said a little reluctantly but James didn't want to be responsible for any more loss of life.

Captain Reynolds was silent for a few moments as he digested the knowledge that there was a hidden world out there. Fortunately, his military training took over and he was able to push that to the back of his mind for the time being. "Ok that wasn't what I was expecting but it doesn't change anything. You're all under arrest until the higher ups can figure out what to do with you."

James tensed but didn't argue. If he were in the Captain's position, he would probably do the same thing. It didn't mean that he had to like it though. Instead, he stood and gave his wand to Jason for safe keeping and allowed a soldier to place him in restraints.

Jason watched this all tiredly. He wanted to argue that his dad wasn't a risk but there was nothing to prove his claim. In fact, he didn't know why his dad was there even if he didn't think he had anything to do with the attack.

"Kid, the only reason I'm not moving you over there too is because Dr. Jackson has assured me that you were just defending yourself. But don't misunderstand me; I won't hesitate to have you restrained if you try anything."

"Captain is that really necessary? I told you we were the ones attacked." Daniel argued.

Just then, the radio earpiece that Daniel was wearing crackled to life. "Dr. Jackson what is your situation?"

Daniel looked at the Captain apologetically before stepping a few feet away. "There is a contingent here from the local military base. I managed to convince him that SG-1 and the men from Prometheus were not to blame but we need someone familiar with the program to take charge." Daniel was intentionally being vague in case he was overheard.

"Roger that Dr Jackson, the President has already contacted the Prime Minister. I expect that someone will be there shortly to take charge." There was another crackle of static and then Prendergast said in a somber tone "Dr. Jackson, I would appreciate it if you could see to it that the remains of my men are treated respectfully until they can be brought home for burial."

Daniel blushed when he realized that he hadn't thought to inform the Commander about the reinforcements. "I apologize Commander; I should've informed you immediately. And it would be an honor, I'm only sorry that it is necessary at all."

"I understand Dr. Jackson, the living come first. The remaining men and wounded will return to the Prometheus after they are debriefed at the Lakenheath Air Force Base."

By the time that Daniel returned to Jason, the captain had left to supervise his men and ensure that none of the wizards and witches escaped. He knelt down next to Jason; it was plain to see that Jason was a little shaken. "Don't worry about him; he's just doing his job."

Jason nodded shakily. He was getting increasingly tired and he just wanted to sleep and forget this happened but he didn't think that would be happening anytime soon. It didn't help that part him felt the captain should have him under guard with everyone else, then there wouldn't be any chance of him hurting anyone else.

Teal'c was observing quietly from nearby but didn't have anything to add. If the captain tried to take Jason into custody, he would step in. O'Neill and Sheppard would not be pleased if something were to happen to Jason especially now that the threats had been neutralized.

A few minutes later a car and another troop transport pulled up. The windows were heavily tinted so it was impossible to tell who was inside but the door opened almost as soon as the car came to a stop. A pair of men got out; one was dressed in a dark grey suit with a white shirt and a black tie. The second man was dressed in a military uniform similar to that of the captain.

Both men had apparently received information ahead of time on the situation as well as the players involved because after scanning the group the man in the suit walked over towards Daniel and the officer moved over towards the captain.

The officer issued some orders that went unheard by Jason and the others. However, the officer left the captain and moved towards Daniel while the captain started directing his men to collect the witches and wizards. The prisoners were split up and loaded onto the two troop transports along with the soldiers.

"Dr. Jackson, Teal'c this is Major Thomas and I'm Sean Michaels with MI-6." Sean flashed an identification badge at the two men.

Jason wasn't paying any attention to the agent. His eyes were glued to another spectacle. With the wizards and witches moved onto the troop transports, there was nothing to hide the bodies of those people that wouldn't be going home to their families ever again. A pair of soldiers was cordoning off the area and Jason kept hoping they would move the bodies.

"Jason?" Daniel asked. "Jason?" He prompted again.

Jason jerked his eyes away from the scene and wondered out loud. "Why aren't they doing something with the bodies?"

Daniel heard Jason and looked at him a little strangely. "Are you ok Jason?"

Jason didn't look at Daniel, he just turned his eyes back to the bodies scattered on the ground. "Can't they do something about the bodies? It doesn't seem right to leave them there."

Sean answered, having overheard the comment. "They can't until a coroner has had a chance to examine the bodies and any evidence is collected."

"Oh…" Jason said simply and slumped lower.

"Jason, we all need to go with Agent Michaels and Major Thomas to the base. Is there anything you want to grab from before we leave?" Daniel asked again.

Jason finally seemed to pay some attention to what Daniel was saying. Right now all he wanted was John. He needed to talk to him. James would listen to him but only John knew everything that Jason was going through.

"Oh…uh…no I don't need anything."

"Good then, the three of you can ride in our car." Sean said crisply. He didn't bother to see if they followed. Once he reached the car, he held the rear door open waiting for Daniel, Teal'c, and Jason to get in before he closed the door and moved around to the driver's side. At the same time, the Major got in the passenger side of the front seat.

After everyone was in the car, the agent started the car and drove towards the base. There was very little conversation in the car ride. One of the few topics was whether John had been notified or not. Even in his semi-distracted state, Jason noticed that the agent didn't answer. Despite the fact that he was with Daniel and Teal'c, Jason began to get a bad feeling.

Daniel realized that John should be present for any kind of questioning that Jason would participate in so he contacted the Prometheus. A short conversation was enough to confirm that not only was John already on his way but unsurprisingly O'Neill was with him.

Jason didn't miss the slight scowl on the agent's face when Daniel passed on the information.

Teal'c didn't miss the agent's behavior either. During his time fighting against the Goa'uld with the SGC, he had come across many groups that seemed to be working at cross-purposes. The NID was just one of those groups but recently they had learned of a second group that had more international support, the Trust. Teal'c thought that the Trust may be interested in Jason's abilities or his links to the wizarding world. Either could be a potent weapon in the hands of the Trust.

The troop transports were not nearly as quiet as the car. There were only five wizards that were not yelling at the soldiers and demanding that they be released. For many of them, it was the first time that they had any significant exposure to muggles and while most did not support the Death Eaters they still felt superior to their captors.

Some of the soldiers came quite close to beating the mouthier prisoners but there were restrained by the NCOs.

The only people that had remained silent were James, Sirius, Amelia, Croaker and Albus. James understood the military well enough from his experience with John to know that any resistance would just make things worse. He was confident that Jason would be able to clear him of any suspicion. Unknowingly, his actions were guiding three of the other occupants in the troop transport.

Sirius' first impulse was to yell and demand that he be released immediately. Unlike the rest of his family he had more experience with muggles so he was not as quick to dismiss them or their capabilities. Still, he was not used to being in this position, being an Unspeakable carried a certain amount of authority in the wizarding world after all. However, he came to the quick conclusion that James had the most experience and if he was remaining silent that it would most likely be prudent to do the same thing.

Croaker was thinking along the same lines as Sirius. He trusted James; the man had been one of his agents for years and had never shown himself to be untrustworthy. Now, there was too much at stake. The wizarding world itself could be exposed to far more people than could be easily obliviated. Hopefully between James and Jason they would be able to diffuse this situation because he was fairly certain that his position as head of the Unspeakables was not going to bring him any favor with these people.

Amelia was silent for two reasons. One she had learned to trust her friend long ago so if Croaker was holding his tongue, then she would do the same. The second reason was that she was trying to figure out just what exactly had happened and what it would take to get the wizarding world clear of this mess.

Albus was brooding. How was it possible that everything had gone wrong so quickly? It must have been Fudge, that was the only way that his plan could've gone so wrong. It was the only explanation for why the Aurors had opened fire as soon as the front door of the house was opened. The black man hadn't done anything threatening, in fact now that Albus could think about it; he hadn't even said anything before the first spell was fired.

But Fudge wasn't the only complication, Harry Potter was incredibly powerful and far more talented than he expected. He'd never even seen magic wielded in such a manner. Even Voldemort had never been able to manipulate his magic in such a way. Albus felt a sliver of fear when he thought back to his aborted attempt at escape. It had always been impossible to stop someone once they began apparating. The mechanism to do so normally was anti-apparition wards but even those worked by preventing apparition, not by yanking someone back.

The question that was plaguing him now was what to do. If his full involvement in today's events came to light, it could destroy his reputation and devastate the wizarding world. What would they do if he wasn't there to guide them? Someone less worthy may come to the forefront and then it would be impossible to predict what could happen.

With luck the Aurors that had been provided by Cornelius were killed in the battle. If such a thing occurred, he would be able to lay the blame at Cornelius' feet; the man was largely responsible after all.

**RAF Lakenheath Air Force Base, UK**

John was pacing back and forth in an unused office. As soon as he'd heard the news about an attack he'd practically beaten down the door to General O'Neill's office. At first the details were sketchy, nothing more than a hurried request for reinforcements from Daniel. Then as more information came in, John put two and two together and theorized that for some bizarre reason, Jason and SG-1 were being attacked by wizards.

Even as he paced and worried, John thought about the brief trip between Colorado and Lakenheath, it had taken less than a ½ hour once they'd left Cheyenne Mountain. There were definite advantages to working with alien technology. That didn't mean that there weren't times when he missed being behind the controls of a F-15 or an Apache. They may be primitive by comparison to a Puddle Jumper but there was something more primal about them, about feeling the pull of gravity as you accelerated that the Ancient technology lacked.

O'Neill had been with him for a short while but the man had apparently grown tired of John's pacing and left for another office. John recognized the signs of worry on the man. While he may have left SG-1 that didn't mean that the relationships forged and strengthened in the heat of battle were forgotten.

Just when his patience was at its limit a young Sergeant knocked and entered the office. The troops had just returned and were unloading the prisoners. Jason and SG-1 had also entered the base and were being directed to a conference room in order to be debriefed.

It was in a non-descript conference room that John found Jason, Daniel, Teal'c, O'Neill and a handful of men he didn't recognize. As much as he wanted to check Jason over for any injuries and just see how he was doing, now wasn't the time. Instead, all he could do was nod his head at Jason and send him an encouraging smile.

When John entered the room, all eyes turned towards him for a brief moment to identify who was coming in. Only Jason let his eyes linger. 'John was here.' He kept thinking over and over again. It became his mantra and soothed his ragged nerves. He wouldn't have to go through this alone. Yes he'd battled the Wraith, but today he'd been fighting against other people and it was so far outside of his realm of experience that he didn't know how to deal with it. John would know what it felt like. He'd had the same experiences.

For the next hour, Jason and SG-1 described the battle in as much detail as possible. Given the fact that everyone was cleared for knowledge of the wizarding world, Jason spent some time describing the spells that were being used against them as well as his own attacks and defenses. Something in the look John gave him during this told Jason to leave out anything that might be a result of the change to his DNA. Therefore, everything became magic or obscure spells he'd learned from the Unspeakables.

When they were done describing the battle, more questions were asked.

"Teal'c what precipitated the conflict?" Asked O'Neill and for once there wasn't a trace of humor. Any attacks on his people were treated with the utmost seriousness.

Teal'c sat calmly with his hands folded in front of him on the conference table simply raised an eyebrow at the question before answering. "I do not know. It is my belief that they came expecting a fight. Almost as soon as I had opened the door they began their assault. Nothing was said prior."

Neither Jason nor Daniel could add anything since they had been in the den working. It was only the sounds of battle that had gotten their attention in the first place.

"Jason do you have any idea why they would attack you? I'm assuming that you were the target of this since we've never had any other contact with the British Wizarding world." O'Neill asked. So far the other men had been largely content to let him take the lead. Only the MI-6 agent seemed to have issues with this.

John nodded at Jason to answer.

"No, I don't and I don't think that all of the wizards and witches that were there were involved. My dad, Sirius Black, Croaker and the other Unspeakables all showed up at the end. I didn't know what was going on so I stunned them along with everyone else. But really, I've had very little interaction with the Wizarding world and none since I've gotten back from Atlantis."

Michaels asked a question of his own before O'Neill could ask a follow-up. "Why does you magic appear to be different from the others?" Despite their suspicions about him, Michaels was not part of any group other than MI-6. He'd not been happy to hear about John's presence because professionally the presence of a guardian would make questioning more difficult and personally he wondered why John wasn't there to begin with.

John didn't need to send any signals before he answered this question. Jason struggled to form an answer that wouldn't give away any of his secrets. In the end, he settled on an abbreviated form of the truth.

"I didn't want to go to Hogwarts so shortly after I would've started my dad found me. So instead, I trained with the Unspeakables. Croaker had some theories about the use of wands and formal spell casting that he tried out on me. So instead of a wand, I use this glove." Here he held up his gloved hand for all to see. "Instead of learning specific movements and incantations, I was taught to visualize what I want so my magic isn't limited by what I can learn from a book."

John snorted softly. It was true, that Jason didn't learn from a book but he'd gotten more than a few ideas from comic books he used to read when he was a kid, not to mention the cartoons he still watched.

Michaels turned towards John. "Is there something you want to add Major?"

John shrugged. He hadn't been as discreet as he thought. "Sure my brother may not have been taught from a book but he got a lot of ideas from comic books. Believe me when I say that you don't want to make fun of him." John rubbed the back of his head in an exaggerated fashion. He hadn't meant to jump in but it did give him a chance to backup Jason's story and hopefully allay any suspicions that the man might have.

O'Neill looked questioningly at Michaels before asking another question. "Jason I'd like to know whom you think we can trust."

Jason gave it some thought but ultimately it was a very short list. "I trust James Potter, my dad, and Sirius Black. Neither would do anything to hurt me. I doubt Croaker would either but I don't know him as well."

John didn't know whether he should be proud that Jason was being so cautious or sad that he had to be. It wasn't right that his brother had so much on his shoulders but as much as he wanted to he couldn't change that.

"Thank you Jason, I know this hasn't been easy on you." O'Neill said kindly. "Major, why don't you take your brother to get something to eat, he looks dead on his feet. We can continue the questioning without you."

John nodded his head in acknowledgement before motioning for Jason to follow him. It hadn't been all that long since John was stationed at the base so he still knew where the mess hall was. Together, the two brothers shared a quiet meal of sandwiches and soft drinks. Neither said much. Both were content to simply enjoy the company of the other.

"Ok Jason follow me." John wanted to talk to his brother privately. So he led Jason on a decent hike to an old observation tower off one of the runways that was no longer used. He'd found the tower not long after being stationed at the base. It was a quiet place to retreat to when John wanted to be alone.

During his time on the base, he'd bought a couple of cheap chairs to so he wouldn't have to sit on the floor. He was pleasantly surprised to find them still there. In fact they'd been joined by a couple more chairs and even a small table. John grinned; someone else had found his hideout and by the looks of it used it for poker or something similar.

"Ok Jason, how are you doing really?" John was leaning forward intently. There was no ulterior motive; no desire for information, John just wanted to make sure that Jason was ok with what had happened.

"I'm fine, just a few scratches and I'm tired but that's it." Jason didn't know why he'd said that. He had wanted to talk to John but now that the chance was here, he was afraid. What if John thought he was weak or worse, what if John thought he was a monster?

John scrutinized Jason for a moment and then leaned back in his chair. The attack by the Wraith had driven home how much he'd been neglecting Jason while they were at Atlantis. He wouldn't do that now or let Jason push him away. He had an idea about what Jason was going through and as much as he hated the idea he had to push Jason hard enough to find out.

"You don't mind that you killed those men?" It hurt to see Jason flinch at the question.

"No it was just like the battle against the Wraith."

John knew that was true but it didn't change the fact that this time his brother had killed other humans and not some life-sucking aliens. "Is that what you'd say to their families? It doesn't matter that some of them might have had children that will never see their parent again? What does that make you?"

Jason blinked his eyes rapidly trying to keep the tears from falling. His worst fear was coming true right before his eyes; John thought he was a monster. "John…I…"

"No Jason, I want to know what that makes you?!" John asked sharply. He only hoped that Jason would forgive him for doing this but he needed Jason to get it out in the open or it would be hanging over his head forever.

Jason shook his head not wanting to answer to voice his fears but John's sharp voice wouldn't let him hide. His voice shaky, Jason said "I'm a monster. I'm as bad as the Wraith."

As soon as the words were out, Jason broke down and started to cry. At first he didn't even notice the strong arms that were wrapped firmly around him. He didn't notice the hand that was rubbing his back trying to sooth him.

After a few minutes Jason wanted to pull back from John but he was afraid to leave the comfort of his brother's arms. He didn't know what was going on. If John thought he was a monster than why was he hugging him? Did he forgive him?

"John?" Jason asked. That one word was beseeching John to help him understand what was happening.

John let his brother go. "I'm sorry Jason you needed to say it. I didn't know how else to do it without getting you drunk off your ass."

"I don't…what?" He was even more confused now but also a little hopeful. Did this mean John didn't hate him?

"Jason, I need you to just listen to me for a minute. You are not a monster!" John didn't raise his voice but it was said so firmly that Jason couldn't argue with him. "What happened today was tragic but it in no way makes you like the Wraith. What you did was defend yourself and others."

"But what about their families?"

"Yes some or possibly even all of them had families. Those people will probably want to blame you but it doesn't make it your fault or make you a monster."

"But…"

"Did you start the battle?"

"No." Jason replied softly.

"Did you enjoy killing those men?"

Jason thought it over before answering. There had been no thrill it had been a fight to survive. Even with the men responsible for killing the woman and children, there had been no excitement, no satisfaction, only the sense that justice had been delivered.

"No I didn't." His voice was a little firmer if no less soft.

"Did you kill them for fun? Do you want to do it again?"

Jason didn't even need to think about his answer this time. "No, I hope I never have to do it again."

John wrapped Jason in a tight hug again. "I hope you never do too and that is why you aren't like the Wraith. They enjoy killing, they enjoy the act itself as much as the need for it. You will never become a monster; I need you to believe that."

Jason nodded against John's chest. John would help him. John would make sure he never became like the Wraith.

When they broke apart again, John looked at Jason. "I won't lie to you Jason. You're going to have nightmares. You will probably remember the faces of those men a long long time. I want you to talk to me and when we are back at Atlantis, I want you to talk to Dr. Heightmeyer."

"The shrink? Why you don't talk to her do you?" Jason didn't like the idea of talking to a psychiatrist. He was happy to talk to John but someone he didn't know was another story altogether.

"I'm not 18 years old Jason. I was trained for this." John paused and then said in a quiet voice "I don't want you to have to live with the regrets and guilt the way I have."

-----

At the same time that John and Jason were talking, General O'Neill and agent Michaels were interrogating James Potter and Sirius Black. As the only two men that were deemed trustworthy by Jason, they were the first to be interrogated. The questioning had been fairly uneventful. Neither man was able to supply much information since they had only been alerted to the situation once the alarms were going off in the Ministry. After their initial questioning both O'Neill and Michaels were confident that neither man had anything to do with the attack, they were only responding to the alarms that had been triggered. It was true that this would clear the Unspeakables and potentially the Aurors that arrived with Amelia Bones, each person would still be questioned to make sure that nothing was missed.

Following James and Sirius were Croaker and Amelia Bones.

Amelia was unused to being treated like a prisoner and reacted accordingly.

"I demand to be released immediately. You don't have the authority to hold me." She ordered.

Agent Michaels looked at her in surprise. He had expected the woman to be more reasonable but she wasn't starting on the best foot. "I think you are operating under some false assumptions Ms. Bones. You have no authority here. You and the other witches and wizards attacked military personnel and threatened the security of this country."

"We did not attack the military. We were responding to the alarms. They picked up a magical battle in Suffolk. Before we could respond someone stunned us." She argued.

O'Neill asked sarcastically "So it is just a coincidence that wizards attacked three military personnel under my command?" He was including Jason but as a new member of the Atlantis expedition, he did fall under his command.

Michaels didn't even give Amelia a chance to respond. "The Prime Minister has already spoken with the Queen, unless you can provide a reasonable excuse for today's events there will be severe repercussions for the wizarding world. We have let you run affairs without oversight for too long apparently."

Amelia paled. If the Queen was notified they would never be able to obliviate everybody. This was a disaster. "I truly don't know what happened. I was in my office with Croaker, the head of the Unspeakables. We had just been talking about Jason Sheppard and his return when alarms started blaring notifying both departments of a magical battle going on in Suffolk. Because of the size of the disturbance we each brought a contingent of our forces. Like I said we were all stunned just after our arrival before we even had a chance to figure out what was going on."

One of the other officers in the room pulled out a packet of photos and handed it over to Amelia. "Can you tell us who you recognize from these photos?"

Amelia created four different stacks of photos. The first one contained all of her Aurors, the second was Croaker, James Potter, Sirius Black and the last two were a mixture of people. When she saw some of the photos, her blood boiled. "These are my Aurors, they arrived at the same time I did and could not have been involved directly. The next stack are the Unspeakables that I know of, they are a secretive group so I can't be certain beyond these three who was there. This one is people that I know have no place being there today."

"Do you know them?"

Amelia pointed out Albus Dumbledore. "Albus is the head of the Wizengamot our legislative body and the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry. I don't know why but he has been trying to get Jason Sheppard under his thumb for the past year. I would bet anything that he was behind this."

Both Michaels and O'Neill took note of this before moving on to the remainder of the photos. It turned out the others were either known members of a vigilante group known as the Order of the Phoenix which was coincidentally run by Albus Dumbledore or they were members of the personal bodyguard squad assigned to protect the Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge.

Everyone in the room was disgusted at the level of corruption that seemed to pervade the government of the wizarding world. Even Amelia recognized how ineffectual the government had become but she was not in a position to change it. All she could do was hope to limit the damage to innocent wizards and witches.

O'Neill stood up and was glaring at Amelia. "You people are too much!" He planted both hands on the conference table and leaned forward menacingly. "I'm amazed you haven't destroyed each other."

Amelia flushed a bright red and stood up as well. "I will not be spoken to that way. I'm the Head of our Law Enforcement agency and I deserve if not respect then at least the courtesy that the position affords me."

"Really, we'll let me tell you, you're doing a bang-up job." O'Neill responded sarcastically not backing down. "What courtesy do you deserve? Under your watch you have a known vigilante group operating and a Minister acting far beyond the limits of his authority. So you'll have to excuse me if I don't ask for lessons on how to be an effective leader from you."

"Oh and I suppose your government is perfect, not a speck of corruption anywhere to be found." Amelia answered just as hotly.

Michaels who had remained seated added in his own view. "We won't even go into Voldemort and the amount of damage you and your people covered up. I suppose you see no problem with wiping people's memories since it is easier than dealing with the real problem. Tell me Ms. Bones, home many people were killed by Voldemort only to have your own people make it look like an accident. Didn't we deserve to know what was going on or was that not a concern?"

Suddenly Amelia found herself on the defensive. "We couldn't take the risk of letting you know what was going on. It could've been the witch hunts all over again."

O'Neill snorted contemptuously and stood up straight. "The witch hunts were hundreds of years ago. We don't attack people for being different but we will defend ourselves from a credible threat and you and the other British wizards and witches are doing an excellent job of proving yourselves to be a very real threat."

"That is the attitude right there, how can we trust that you won't attack us?"

"Lady from where I'm sitting it's only your people that have been doing the attacking."

Again Amelia found her own words thrown back into her teeth. It was true; the muggles had not threatened or knowingly harmed a wizard in centuries. Admittedly that was due to the secrecy laws but that didn't make the muggles safe from wizards. Voldemort was just the most recent threat to both their worlds.

"Even if what you say is true, what do you expect me to do about it?"

"General O'Neill, Ms. Bones, I think we are getting a bit ahead of ourselves. Before we set about fixing the wizarding world, I suggest we finish interrogating the prisoners. We need to know what exactly went on today."

O'Neill reluctantly agreed. There was still tension but they finished interrogating Amelia a short while later. When they were done, she was taken from the room. Neither Michaels nor O'Neill thought she was involved in the attack today but they didn't want to return her to the holding cells until after the other leaders had been questioned.

Croaker was the next to be questioned. Based on Amelia's information both men felt that it would be easier if they could identify who the actual participants in the battle were. By the descriptions provided by Jason, Daniel, and Teal'c neither the Unspeakables nor the Aurors had any role in the battle. So instead, Michaels focused on corroborating Amelia's account of the events and how the two teams managed to find themselves in Suffolk. When they were satisfied with Croaker's answers they gave him the same packets of photos that had been given to Amelia. Like his friend, Croaker identified Albus and the Minister's personal guards as the most likely causes behind the day's tragedy.

Unlike Amelia, Croaker was more resigned to the changes that were going to be forced on the wizarding world. The scale of the attack had been much larger than any single Death Eater raid and to make it worse, it had been conducted during the early morning in full sight of the neighborhood. That wouldn't stop people from wanting to send in the Obliviators but it would be a futile gesture and could possibly make things worse. No, Croaker realized the wizarding world had made its bed and for once it was going to have to lie in it.

-----

John and Jason sat in the old tower for some time. Neither said anything further content to have the other nearby. As much as he wanted to let Jason have all the time he needed, John knew they couldn't wait to go back. Fortunately, the questioning should be over and John would be damned if he let that agent dig too far into his brother's past or secrets.

Reluctantly, John stood and stretched his arms over his head.

Jason simply watched him but he didn't make any move to stand.

"Are you ready to head back?" John asked softly.

"Do I have to? I just want to go somewhere and sleep." Jason said plaintively. Still, he had yet to move from his position on the floor.

John nodded his head. "I just want to check in to make sure that they don't need us for anything." When Jason didn't react or move John added "Besides maybe James has been released and if he has I bet he's worried about you."

Jason scrubbed his eyes and sighed. He knew John was right but if James was going to be an ass that Jason was definitely not up to dealing with that. At the same time, he didn't want to worry him either. "John, can I go back with you?"

John held out a hand for Jason to grab.

Jason grasped his brother's hand and hoisted himself to his feet.

Once Jason was on his feet, John gave him a strange look. Rather, it was an incredulous look that left Jason confused until John grinned at him. "You're asking if you can come back to Colorado with me until we leave for Atlantis."

Jason just nodded tentatively.

John rolled his eyes but his grin never faded. Strangely, it made Jason feel safe even if he didn't know what John was smiling about. "Do you really think I would leave you here? I don't care who General O'Neill has providing security, you staying where I can see you until we get back to Atlantis. We just need to go back and get your stuff."

Jason stepped back and wrapped his arms around his chest. "John, I…I don't think I can go back there."

"You won't have to stay there Jason, it would just be to pack your things up."

"Please John don't make me go back there."

The look in Jason's eyes convinced him more than the tone of his voice. It tore at him to see Jason look so unsure and scared. He knew it would take more than just the one conversation for Jason to be able to move beyond what had happed but it hadn't stopped him from hoping otherwise.

In two strides, John had moved over next to Jason and grabbed him into a tight hug again.

Jason felt stupid. For the second time today he was crying. God, John must think he was so weak. He'd never seen John cry since the day they buried their parents. Part of him wanted to stay there, he felt safe with John protecting him. Another part was telling him that he was being a baby. Unfortunately, he listened to the second part and struggled to get out of John's grasp.

John just tightened his grip. "Don't Jason. You can't hide from this. It's going to suck and you're going to have nightmares so you might as well get used this now because you will need it later."

After one last burst of half-hearted struggling Jason gave in. His emotions were so close to the surface that they felt like an open wound. "I'm sorry; I know I should be stronger…"

John let Jason go but held onto his arms so that he could look Jason in the eyes. "Don't say that Jason. No one expects you to forget this ever happened and I hope you never get used to it because this is how you know you're human."

Jason studied John as if he was trying to make sure that John was being honest. Only after he was satisfied that his brother was telling the truth did he reluctantly bob his head in understanding. "So you won't make me go back there?"

"No of course not, I'm sure we can get Daniel or Teal'c to pack your stuff. I'd let James do it but SG-1 will know what to look for to make sure that we don't leave any classified materials behind."

Jason's relief was almost palpable. John immediately knew he'd made the right decision. In the future, Jason may want to go back, if only to face the ghosts of those that died but that day was not today.

"Come on, let's get out of here."

This time, Jason followed John's lead and the two brothers began to make their way back to the conference room.

-----

James was currently sitting in a small office off the main conference room where he'd been interrogated earlier. Despite the fact that everyone seemed to believe his story he knew that there was a guard outside the door. Where was Jason? That thought kept running through his mind. What if he was hurt? Surely he would've been told if that was the case but left alone with nothing to distract him, his mind kept coming up with darker and darker scenarios.

Frustrated and nervous, James pushed back from the desk he was sitting at and stood up. He muttered to himself as he paced around the room. After two circuits, James sat back down in his chair and began to drum his fingers on the desktop in an effort to distract himself.

He'd lost track of how long he'd spent pacing and nervously sitting at the desk by the time the door opened. At first he was both disappointed and frightened when he saw it was John. Where was Jason? But before he could even ask the question, Jason appeared from behind John and walked into the room with him.

It took only a second for James to realize that Jason was there. Before he rushed to hug him though, he apologized again. "I'm sorry for acting like a jerk. I was just worried."

Jason smiled. His dad apologized to him before but it was right after waking up so he'd wondered how much of it was simply being relieved that Jason was ok. This was different though, he could tell that his dad truly meant it. "I'm sorry too; I never should've left like that without telling you."

John muttered "You got that right."

After giving Jason a warm hug, James stepped back and asked something he'd been trying to figure out since this whole thing started. "What the hell is going on? Why were Dumbledore and the others attacking you?"

John and James watched as Jason walked towards the desk and sank done onto the chair. "I don't know. I was hoping you knew."

The last thing John wanted right now was to make Jason go through everything again. "James, we can compare notes later. I think Jason has been through enough today."

Jason would've argued normally but in this instance, John was right he didn't want to go through everything all over again.

"Well it might be a tight fit but my flat in London should be big enough. I'm not sure what we will do about Daniel and the others."

There was no missing the look that Jason and John shared. It was also virtually impossible to see how uncomfortable Jason was looking.

"What?"

"Yeah…" Jason said softly. "I'm going back with John." There was a moment of guilt when he saw the way James' face fall.

"But why?"

"I just don't think…" Jason stopped and took a deep breath. "Dad, I just need to get away from the wizarding world for a while."

James felt his heart jump a little when Jason called him dad. It was enough to tell him that Jason wasn't doing this to get back at him.

John decided to step in and head off any potential arguments. He moved over to stand next to his brother. "James, he'll be safer with me in Colorado. Something is obviously going on with your government. Do you really want Jason caught in the middle?" It was a low blow but James needed to see reason.

The fight left James. His shoulders sagged in defeat just moments after the topic came up. "You're right."

"Come with us? We won't be leaving for a few weeks yet to go back." John suggested.

Jason brightened and looked at James eagerly.

James wanted to, he really did but Jason wasn't his only responsibility at the moment. "I want to, I really do but I can't not with Thomas getting out of the hospital this week. He'll need someone to help him adjust and I can't just abandon him."

"Come for a week then, bring Thomas with you. It will give me a chance to meet him." Jason suggested, refusing to give up on the idea so easily.

James pondered the idea while leaning his head against the wall behind him. "I know Thomas wants to meet you too. I will talk to his doctors to make sure that there wouldn't be a problem with his traveling. As long as they give the ok, it sounds like a great idea."

Obviously that was the right answer to give because Jason sent him a bright smile in response.


	15. The Best Laid Plans Part 2

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

**A/N: ****No action this chapter but it does pretty much wrap up the major plot lines of the wizarding world.**

**Chapter ****1****5****The Best Laid Plans pt.****2**

**October ****18****th****RAF Lakenheath Air Force Base****UK**

O'Neill and the others took a break to review what they'd learned so far from the questioning. They'd ran through the stories from Jason and SG-1 in order to prepare their questions for the next two groups that would be questioned, Fudge's Aurors of which only one was in any condition to answer questions and the members of Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix. That would only leave the old man left to be question. Given his position in the wizarding world, it would be best if they went into that session with all the information possible along with any corroborating evidence.

The Aurors and Unspeakable agents that had arrived with Amelia Bones and Martin Croaker had not been able to provide any real information. All that they remembered was arriving near Sheppard's home in Suffolk shortly after responding to the alert. Once there, they were all stunned by Jason.

O'Neill found it particularly amusing that Jason had fashioned his own flash-bang grenade using magic. It was doubtful that anyone raised within the wizarding world would have thought to do something like that. It was only due to his exposure to the military through his brother that gave him the idea. Still, it did make O'Neill a little more comfortable with the idea of sending Jason back to Atlantis. Clearly, he knew how to think on his feet and was able to keep a level head in the middle of extraordinary circumstances.

Once everything was ready, the only remaining Auror that had been sent by Fudge was brought into the room. By a stroke of luck, the man was also the one in charge therefore he had the most direct information. On the downside, all of his men had been killed either during the battle or from the injuries they sustained. It was amazing how quickly someone could die when their wounds went untreated even if those wounds weren't necessarily immediately fatal. None of the men in the room felt any sympathy for this man or those that had been lost while serving under him.

The previous detainees had been upset but civil for the most part. In a somewhat surprising turn of events, Amelia Bones was the most combative. In any other situation, she would have been expected to serve as an example for how her people should behave but the circumstances being what they were, she found herself under someone else's control and she hadn't like it.

The Auror or as they learned in the first few minutes Matthew Dinestar had a very firm opinion of the value of muggles and based on his invective, it wasn't very high. It was only after the third man in the room introduced himself as Jarrod McAlister, an agent for the American Ministry of Magic were they able to get anywhere with his questioning.

McAlister quickly explained that his specialty was mind magics. He was not a full legillimens but his skill was such that it was impossible for someone to conceal the truth or lie in his presence. If any of the detainees proved to be too troublesome, he'd been authorized by the American Secretary of Magic to administer Veritaserum.

Matthew on hearing that he was facing more than a panel of muggles quickly gave in. In a move that surprised no one, Matthew offered to give them the full story in return for leniency. Though it went against his better judgment O'Neill agreed. It wasn't that he didn't trust the results of Veritaserum; in fact if the descriptions of its potency were accurate he wouldn't mind making use of it at the SGC. No, he had learned from experience that it wasn't just the accuracy of information that was crucial but the completeness of it as well. If they were forced to go the Veritaserum route they could very well end up missing vital information because they failed to ask a critical question without realizing it.

"How can you work with these swine?" Matthew asked contemptuously.

"I'm not sure who you're talking about and frankly the only animal I see in this room is you." McAlister responded in the same tone.

O'Neill added in a menacing tone "An animal that needs to be put down."

Matthew's face turned purple an angry retort on his lips. There was a look of absolute certainty and confidence on the old muggle's face. Matthew began to think that maybe it wasn't such a smart thing to insult these people especially since they had his wand.

"Umm…maybe I was a little hasty."

O'Neill smirked, some people were so easy to intimidate. It was a pretty safe bet that the louder someone was the easier they folded under pressure. This guy was no exception. "I don't think you realize exactly what you've done."

McAlister jumped in and made it look like he was afraid that O'Neill was going to go too far. It wasn't quite a good cop bad cop routine but it was close enough. "What he means is that between you and your boss, you managed to attack a unit from the United States military and a US wizard. It isn't inconceivable that these 'errors in judgment' could be perceived as an act of war."

Matthew's face paled further and he started to break out in a cold sweat. "But he said it was just some kid."

That was the wrong thing to say. O'Neill practically exploded. "It was just some kid?!" There was no need to fake the menacing tone this time. "So it's ok to kill him because it was a kid?" In an instant O'Neill was on his feet with his side arm drawn and pointed straight at the man's face. "Give me a reason I shouldn't put a bullet in you right now! After all, you're just some asshole wizard!"

Matthew tried to push back from the conference table but his wrist was handcuffed to it so he could push back more than a few inches. He didn't know exactly how muggle weapons worked but he'd seen the damage they could do. Some of his men had been cut down by the things and there was no doubt in his mind that from this range any injury would be fatal. "Please…please don't kill me." He was practically sobbing. In the space of minutes he'd gone from an angry bigoted wizard to a pitiful excuse for a man begging for his life.

O'Neill never moved, his gun was aimed unerringly at Matthew's forehead.

McAlister said in an equally cold voice "I suggest you give us a very good reason for letting you live and I suggest you do it quickly."

Suddenly Matthew couldn't get the words out fast enough. "It was Fudge. It was Fudge. He told me to meet up with Dumbledore that we were going after some kid that the man was interested in. Fudge told me to not take any chance and attack as soon as we knew that the kid was there."

"Did Minister Fudge give you any reason for this?" McAlister asked.

Michaels was taking thorough notes at the moment. He would be communicating all of this to the Queen shortly so that she could be adequately prepared for her meeting with the esteemed Minister.

It was only just sinking in what Fudge had asked for him to do. Matthew had worked with the Minister for a number of years and was under no illusion that the man would back him up. In fact he'd witnessed his boss laying the blame for most of his mistakes on others that had worked with him. No, if Matthew was going down for this, he would make sure that Fudge was going with him.

Matthew nodded. "I don't think he meant for me to hear it but on my way out of his office I heard him muttering about this being his chance to bring down Dumbledore. I think he wanted to lay the blame for the whole thing at Dumbledore's feet and let the public do the rest."

O'Neill stared at Matthew for another minute before lowering his weapon and putting it back into his holster. Normally, he would never have been carrying a weapon but he felt it prudent since they were dealing with potentially hostile prisoners.

Instead of shooting the man, he called for the guard. "Take this piece of filth back to his cell!" He ordered.

Once Matthew and the guard were out the room McAlister turned towards O'Neill. "General he may have more information for us. I don't think it was wise to send him back to his cell just yet."

"It wouldn't have done much for his health if I let him stay here. You can question him on your own later. Now we need to bring in our little vigilante group and see what they have to say."

Michaels stood and pushed back from the table. "I need to inform the Queen of what we have learned. Please don't let my absence delay the questioning. Like General O'Neill, I find myself to be thoroughly disgusted by these examples from the British wizarding world."

-----

After the drama that was Matthew Dinestar, neither O'Neill nor McAlister were in the mood to put up with the arrogance or self-righteousness that they had been subjected to so far that day. If the Order members were anything like Dinestar, it was going to be a nightmare. Like the Aurors, there were a number of casualties and given that it was a vigilante group the members were most likely fanatical.

Almost reluctantly O'Neill asked the guard to bring in the next prisoner.

Most days O'Neill regretted ever getting promoted to General. Sure it had its perks like a nice office and an incredibly comfortable leather chair but most of the time it just wasn't worth it. Life was much easier when he was just the second-in-command and the leader of SG-1. There were always reports to be written but he never had to worry about the diplomatic crap that seemed to fill up his time lately.

Then there were days like today. Today was a day when he would gladly wash his hands of the Air Force just to get out of this misery.

The Order was everything they feared it would be. As they questioned member after member of the vigilante group they found the same thing. The responses would inevitably cycle between outrage at being held captive which was always accompanied by any number of insults delivered in voices that grated worse than fingernails across a chalkboard.

Once the outrage had run its course and the reality of the situation set in you would expect people to be a little more reasonable or at least a little quieter. Sadly that was not the case with these people. On their own they were quick to quiet down but there was little fear or remorse for their actions. Some people might wonder why that is, after all a young family was dead because of the actions of the Order's members and leader.

The real problem was their absolute faith in Albus Dumbledore. As far as the Order was concerned the man was god and his judgment was infallible. Thus whenever the questions began to focus on Dumbledore and his reasons for ensuring that the Order was present in Suffolk the tone always changed to one of indignation. It was unthinkable to even question the words of the man and clearly those involved were dark or evil if there were doing so because everyone knew that Albus Dumbledore was the greatest leader of the light.

On an on it went, each member of the Order provided a virtually identical account of the events leading up to their arrival and the directives given by their glorious leader.

As a member of the military O'Neill knew the importance of following orders and maintaining the chain of command. During his time in the Air Force he'd had the privilege of working with many commanders that inspired loyalty but he had never encountered the kind of fanaticism that he was seeing in the Order of the Phoenix.

Even with the loyalty and faith shown by the Order of the Phoenix, O'Neill in particular was disturbed by the lack of thought. The people for the most part were sheep going in the direction they were pointed and behaving as they were told. It gave Dumbledore an incredible amount of power and a disturbing ability to wiggle his way out of trouble in the past. If something went wrong than it couldn't possibly because of bad judgment, someone else was always at fault. O'Neill had a strong suspicion that interrogating Albus Dumbledore was going to give him a massive headache.

O'Neill and McAlister had just finished up questioning the Order members when Michaels walked back into the conference room. It didn't take long for him to be brought up to speed on Dumbledore's involvement. Unlike McAlister, neither Michaels nor O'Neill were particularly surprised by Dumbledore's involvement since they were not part of a world that had venerated the man for more than 50 years. However what did disgust them was the fact that two of the highest members of the British wizarding government were willing to kill an 18 year old boy to maintain their power.

After they filled Michaels in on what had been learned, he told them why he'd left. The Queen met with the Minister of Magic once or twice a year. When they'd received word of the attack, it was decided that it was a good time to call for a meeting before the Minister would have enough time to cover everything up. So Michaels had left after questioning the Aurors so that the Elizabeth, the Queen would have all the necessary information when Fudge arrived.

It had already been a long day and none of the men were looking forward to the only person left to interrogate. By all accounts, he was the instigator of the attack or at best he was colluding with Fudge. Either way, Albus Dumbledore had committed what could be considered an act of war. As leaders of the British wizarding world, the two men had organized an attack against both a US citizen and members of the military.

There was some argument about just who would be leading the questioning. Ultimately, it was decided that Michaels would take the lead. McAlister would remain in the background as much as possible. As the only wizard among them, he could use his magic to detect any lies and if necessary use it to force answers from the man. O'Neill would be the muscle, a role he found to be immensely enjoyable and one his years as a Black Ops agent prepared him well.

However before they could ask for Dumbledore to be brought to them, there was a knock on the door. The door opened after O'Neill called out.

John Sheppard stood in the doorway for just a moment but he entered quickly once he saw O'Neill nod.

O'Neill looked at the man. He was more relaxed now that he had a chance to reassure himself that his brother was ok. "Major is there something we can do for you?"

John straightened a little, he was already standing at attention but this man had a lot on influence that could help his brother if he ever needed it. So there was no need to piss him off by being insubordinate in any way. "Yes sir. I'd like permission to take Jason back to Colorado. I think he needs to be in an environment that won't remind him of certain wizards."

O'Neill looked at the other two men to see if they had any objections. It was pretty obvious that Michaels wanted to keep Jason around but for what reason, O'Neill wasn't sure. It could be because the young man was powerful even for a wizard or there could be some other reason, O'Neill just hoped it didn't have anything to do with the Trust. The last thing that Jason needed was for another group to be after him.

McAlister simply nodded and answered O'Neill's unasked question. "I see no problem. He is after all, a US citizen. If we need him to provide more testimony, I trust General O'Neill will know where to find you."

"Yes Major you have permission to take Jason back with you. Unless you have some pressing reason to stay here, I suggest you contact the Prometheus to arrange transport."

John smiled but then looked a little uncomfortable. He didn't want to betray Jason's secrets to the other men in the room. John trusted O'Neill but the other two men were virtual unknowns. "Sir, could I speak with you privately for a moment?"

O'Neill had been in command long enough to know when to grant such a request. That combined with the fact that he knew the type of man John Sheppard was let him know that whatever the topic was, it would be related to Jason in some way and most likely personal. "Of course, gentlemen if you'll excuse me for a moment."

Together, John and the General moved into the hallway and closed the door.

"I assume this is about Jason?"

John nodded before answering in more detail. "Sir, he's pretty upset about what happened. It's one thing to kill a Wraith…"

"But quite another to kill a man. I'm sorry Major; I wish he'd never had to do it in the first place. That being said, he saved a lot of lives today by stopping things before they could escalate further."

"I know sir and I think deep down he knows that too but it is going to take time. Sir, I was hoping that SG-1 would be able to gather his things from our home. They are more familiar with any classified materials than I am so they can ensure that nothing is left behind. And…and I don't think Jason is ready to go back there just yet."

O'Neill was very sympathetic. Jason wasn't that much younger than his own son, Charlie would've been. Just thinking about Charlie was enough to bring the grief that had never quite faded back to the forefront and at the same time, it stoked the fires of his anger. Because of men like Dumbledore and Fudge, Jason had lost something that he could never get back. He only hoped that Jason could find peace with what had happened.

"I don't think Teal'c or Daniel would mind doing that. Major if there is anything I can do to help Jason…please don't hesitate."

John didn't know the details of O'Neill's personal life but he could recognize the signs of a personal loss when he saw them. More than that though, he was grateful that the General was being so accommodating, true Jason could be instrumental in fighting the Wraith but it was more than that. Many military commanders would have tried to keep Jason in a gilded cage until they returned to Atlantis. O'Neill on the other hand was doing everything he could to look out for Jason and make sure that he had as many options open to him as possible.

"Thank you sir. I truly appreciate how much you've done for both Jason and myself."

O'Neill waved off John's gratitude because it was something he would do for any child in need. It also helped that he could plainly see that Jason was extremely important to John, as he should be. In fact they both leaned on each other like he still did with Daniel, Carter and Teal'c. Family was what they were fighting for when you broke it down, whether it was the one you were born with or the one you chose it didn't matter.

"Umm…sir, have you learned anything about why Jason and the others were attacked today?"

O'Neill shook his head. "Nothing that we hadn't already figured out on our own. It seems that both Fudge and Dumbledore were trying to use Jason as some sort of tool. I'm still a little unclear about Dumbledore's ultimate motive but based on my experience with American politicians, I'm pretty sure that Fudge, ridiculous name by the way, would have tried to make it look like Jason was some emerging threat the he personally eliminated."

John's fists clenched tightly and he had to fight the urge to find where the prisoners were being held and explain his displeasure to them. He'd like to explain his displeasure to them very thoroughly and in some cases permanently. No one threatened his family and got away with it.

O'Neill saw John's reaction and while he was tempted to let the man dish out some retribution, the fallout just wouldn't be worth it. "Major, your brother needs you more right now. How do you think he would feel if you were arrested for punishing those responsible?"

The words were enough to break John out of his anger but it didn't stop him from imagining what he could do. "I'm sorry sir. What will happen to Jason now?"

"You mean other than going back with you to the SGC? He'll join you on the Daedelus for the return trip to Atlantis and yes I will speak with Colonel Caldwell to make sure that he understands the situation. Daniel will just have to do the translations on his own."

John was just about to leave and let the General go back to interrogating the prisoners when he remembered one more thing. "Sir when will James Potter be released? He is going to want to see Jason before we return to Atlantis so I invited him to visit in Colorado. Obviously, he won't know about the SGC but he can spend some time with Jason while I'm on base."

"He will be released at the end of the day along with the other Aurors and Unspeakables that weren't part of the fight. It may be a little petty but they need to understand just who is in charge of this situation."

"Thanks again sir, I appreciate everything you're doing for Jason."

"Get out of here Major; I have a big fish to fry."

John didn't waste any more time, he saluted sharply and left.

O'Neill watched him walk down the hall before he entered the conference room once again.

-----

It wasn't until late in the day, close to 9pm, that they were able to bring Albus Dumbledore in for the long anticipated questioning. It had taken that long to finish reviewing the notes and testimony that had been taken so far. There was also more than a bit of procrastination, none of the three men involved were particularly eager to begin the last interview. There was no doubt in their mind that the instigator of the fiasco was Dumbledore with a little twist thrown in by Fudge. No, they were anticipating a very frustrating interview that resulted in few answers.

Fortunately, McAlister had taken steps to help avoid that particular problem. Unbeknownst to O'Neill or Michaels, he had established the standard ward used by the American Ministry when dealing with criminals. Rather than use Veritaserum which was effective in preventing lies, they used wards that made anyone not keyed into them more forthcoming and open. The wards were seen as more versatile because with Veritaserum you had to know which questions to ask, the potion did nothing to force the imbiber to divulge information on his own without being asked.

Even though it had already been a long day, all three men wanted to get this over with. There was enough going on without having to drag this into a second day.

Albus Dumbledore walked into the room with his head held high. His robes were torn and bloody and he sported some bruises and minor cuts but you would never guess that the man had been a participant in a violent magical battle earlier that day. Even without his wand and despite his appearance, he projected an aura of calm confidence. It wasn't hard to see why people were willing to follow him and it was only the knowledge of his actions that kept them from being influenced by the subtle display of power.

After Dumbledore was seated, he took the initiative and began speaking. "Gentlemen, I'm afraid there's been a grave misunderstanding."

O'Neill's face didn't betray any of his feelings regarding the man or the suspicion he felt regarding anything that came out of his mouth. "What misunderstanding would that be? Would it be the same one where you led a vigilante group in an attack against a US citizen and representatives of the US Air Force?"

"Yes that was an unfortunate turn of events. If only it hadn't been necessary than so much violence could've been avoided. Sadly, we were there to ensure the safety of our world." Albus spoke with a barely a pause neatly avoiding or ignoring the sarcasm in O'Neill's questions.

McAlister couldn't stop himself. Dumbledore was one of those wizards that could destroy the relations between the two worlds. He was a very influential figure and people outside of his Order of the Phoenix were just as likely to blindly follow his example. "What possible reason could there have been? None of those involved were working on anything even related to the wizarding world?"

Albus knew he couldn't tell the full truth so he fell back on the story he sold to Cornelius. The wards didn't stop him, just made him more forthcoming. "It was necessary to stop the rise of another Dark Lord. Harry Potter…"

O'Neill cut in sharply "Jason Sheppard!"

Albus frowned slightly before moving on. It was possible that these men knew more about the situation than he expected, that would be unfortunate for his plans. "Very well, Jason Sheppard was responsible for destroying the wards around the Ministry of Magic and then disappearing from the scene. I believe he has been off delving into dark magic to strengthen his already impressive knowledge."

"Why do you think he had been studying dark magic?" McAlister asked curiously. The man was either deluded or trying to spin a tale to justify his actions.

"It is the only way for someone of his age to have collapsed the wards. It is also the only explanation for his level of power; an 18 year old should never have been able to hold us off, even with the assistance of muggles."

O'Neill looked at the man shrewdly and asked rather harshly "Do you actually believe this bullshit or do you just expect everyone else to blithely agree with everything you say?"

Albus pressed forward. It was critical that he convince these men that they were under the control or influence of a dark spell. "I fear your judgment has been clouded by his magic already. It is only my greater experience and power that has protected me thus far. If he is allowed to go unchecked it could mean disaster for both our worlds." While he was not as in tune with the muggle world as he once was, Albus was aware that there continued to be unrest and acts of terrorism. As members of the military, these men would surely respond to a threat that could compromise the security of their nations.

Michaels finally inserted himself in the discussion. "Dumbledore we've already heard from other representatives of your own government. Jason Sheppard was not responsible for the collapse of those wards; it was an artifact that has been in your Ministry for decades and as for his whereabouts afterwards, just because you don't know where he was doesn't mean that we don't. We know exactly where he was and what he was doing."

Albus shook his head sadly. Before he had a chance to respond, O'Neill snapped at him.

"Cut the crap! You can lie and dissemble to your own people. Why are you after Jason Sheppard?!"

For just a second, the grandfatherly façade fell. In its place was a frustrated aging wizard used to getting his way. It had been a long time since someone had spoken to him in that manner. He didn't let Cornelius get away with it and he certainly wasn't going to take it from a muggle.

The tone of voice was at once commanding and at the same time condescending. "I don't think you realize who you are speaking to. You will treat me with the respect my position and my service to the wizarding world deserves!"

O'Neill stood up from his chair to stand over the old man. He didn't lean forward threateningly or place his hands on the table. He simply stood there and looked at Albus with disgust. "At one time you may have warranted such respect if what I've heard about you is true, but apparently that time is long past. Anyone that would lead an attack against an 18 year old boy with nothing more than suspicions as the justification does not deserve respect in my book."

There it was an opening. Albus could use the argument as a way to lessen the damage to his reputation and perhaps escape prosecution. "Yes I was there to apprehend Jason Sheppard but it was not my intention to fight unless absolutely necessary. I'm afraid my trust in the Aurors assigned by the Minister of Magic was misplaced because they attacked at the first opportunity."

"Why would they do that? Weren't they under your command for this 'mission'?" McAlister asked. It didn't take a genius to see where Dumbledore was trying to lead them. It might have even worked if they hadn't spent all day interviewing everyone else involved in this whole mess. In fact, other than Dumbledore the only person they hadn't spoken to was Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic himself.

Albus sighed theatrically. "I have often been at odds with the current Minister of Magic. It is possible that he saw this as an opportunity to boost his political standing in our world while at the same time discrediting me in the process. I truly didn't think he would place his career above the well-being of our world." The answer was only partially true. Albus didn't think that Cornelius would've reacted so irresponsibly but the underlying motivation did not come as any surprise at all.

Michaels was disgusted by the man and the wizarding government in general. The two main pillars of the wizarding government had acted so far beyond their authority it was ridiculous. "Just why exactly would you go to the Minister in the first place? I would've thought that this matter would've fallen under the authority of the DMLE. Is it because you knew there was no justification and hoped to play on the Minister's fears?"

For the first time, Albus was surprised. The muggles he was dealing with had a better understanding of his world than he'd given them credit for. Honestly, he was at a loss on how to answer that particular question because the man's suppositions were true.

When no answer was forthcoming, Michaels pressed his advantage further. "I don't think we've been properly introduced. My name is Sean Michaels, an agent of her Majesty's government. As such, I'm fully aware of who you are and just how far your legal authority extends."

"That is quite interesting Mr. Michaels but also quite irrelevant. You office holds no authority in the wizarding world and I expect you to release me and cease with these questions. The threat to our world is too great and I simply can't allow you to interfere any longer."

The only response from any of the three men was a cold mirthless laugh from the MI-6 agent. "My authority in these matters comes straight from the Queen and she is not happy with the way you and the Minister have handled things within your world. In fact it is largely due to your recent actions that the British wizarding world stands to lose its independence. You have become a danger to the greater British society and we can't allow that. Make no mistake you and the Minister will be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible for your crimes today." The last was added not as a threat but as a promise.

Finally, something seemed to breakthrough Dumbledore's delusions of security. His name would be hated if it became widely known that he was responsible for bringing the wrath of the Queen down on the wizarding world. "You can't do that; the wizarding world needs my guidance. Without me they will be lost and could easily fall to darkness." It was his worst fear and had been his primary motivation to bring Jason under his guidance in the first place.

"From where I'm standing, you are hardly the best person for that. Now do you want to tell us the real reason you went after Jason Sheppard. By his own admission, he's never even met you before and the other testimony proves that he had nothing to do with the collapse of the wards around your Ministry."

"You wouldn't understand. I was simply doing what was necessary for the good of the wizarding world." Albus argued though he was beginning to show his years. Now that he was faced with the consequences of his actions for perhaps the first time in his life, he felt like he had no control of events as they were playing out.

O'Neill had quickly grown tired of the man's evasions and rationalizations. "I may not be the genius that Carter or Daniel is but why don't you try to explain it to me anyway."

The wards were having a greater affect on Dumbledore now that his confidence had been broken. Without realizing it the subtle nature of the wards continued to weaken his inhibitions and he shared the underlying logic behind his grand plan. "My power is fading. I won't be able to guide the wizarding world for much longer. I needed to find a replacement, someone strong that could stand as a beacon for the light to lead our world once I'm gone. Jason Sheppard was already responsible for saving us from the Dark Lord Voldemort now he needs to shoulder his responsibility to the wizarding world and lead it to the future."

O'Neill, less familiar that either McAlister or Michaels with the wizarding world, was disgusted by the man's motivations. "And what if Jason didn't want to lead your world, did that ever factor into your plans?"

"His wants are irrelevant in the face of our world's needs. It is his duty, one that only I can prepare him for."

It was a little disturbing to see the light of fanaticism shine out of the eyes of such a powerful individual. With the amount of power that Dumbledore had available to him, he could do a lot of damage to both worlds.

"Unfortunately for you, you don't get to decide what Jason has to do and after today he will be out of your reach." O'Neill wished he could say that he would be safe but Atlantis was not safe as long the Wraith continued to threaten the Pegasus galaxy but at least he wouldn't have to worry about Dumbledore or any other wizard or witch trying to abduct him again.

"No you must see how important he is. You must allow me to guide him. He's already become too powerful, without me he could easily become a threat both worlds."

O'Neill had had enough. The man refused to face the reality of the situation. His half-assed rationalizations and contrived justifications were meaningless. "You don't get it do you. You've lost. You have no authority and I swear you will never come near Jason Sheppard again. Do you even care that good people died today? More than 10 people are dead, including a woman and her family because of you, does that register at all?"

"It was…"

"If you say 'regrettable' one more time I will shoot you right here and damn the consequences." The truth of O'Neill's threat could be seen clearly in his narrowed eyes and his taut body. The man was radiating anger.

McAlister didn't have anything to add. He was ashamed to that such a powerful figurehead of the wizarding world had fallen so low. There could be no justifications for his actions and those of the Minister and now their world was going to be the suffering the repercussions.

Michaels too had heard all that he could stomach. The questioning if allowed to continue could easily escalate to the point of violence. He wasn't sure how much longer O'Neill would restrain himself from physically lashing out and if Michaels was honest with himself, he wouldn't object to it either. The only thing that could be said for Dumbledore was that as deluded as he was, his actions were at least done for what he perceived as the good of the wizarding world. The Minister's actions could be seen as nothing more than a move to gain political favor and discredit his opposition at the same time.

It was with a grim smile that Michaels placed Dumbledore formally under arrest on multiple counts of murder and attempted murder. With the testimony that had already been given, no one in the room doubted that the man would be found guilty, the only difficulty would be ensuring that some misguided follower didn't try to break him out of whatever prison he would be put in.

The shocked and disbelieving expression never left Dumbledore's face. It was there when he was handcuffed and continued to be there as he was dragged roughly from the room. Word had quickly spread around the base that this man was responsible for deaths in Suffolk today and while the soldiers were upset at the loss of their comrades, it was the death of the family that really pissed them off. Consequently, the guards were more than a little rough with him, when dragging him from the room.

"Thank god that is finally over." O'Neill said with a relieved sigh. He stood again and stretched his back. The downside of getting old was the aches and pains of his old injuries coming back to haunt him. "How did a man like that ever stay in power let alone become the headmaster of a school?"

McAlister wouldn't try to make excuses for the wizarding world but it wasn't that different from the muggle one. "He was a hero and powerful. Dumbledore stopped a powerful dark lord and the wizarding world revered him for it."

O'Neill opened his mouth to comment but then thought better of it. He couldn't entirely fault them for overlooking the man's actions; after all there were lots of people in the US government that had achieved their positions simply because they were famous actors or athletes. "Ok I can see that." He said somewhat begrudgingly. "But come on, this couldn't have been the first time he's done something like this. I mean he was too fanatical about it for it to be out of the blue."

"Our media is not as pervasive as it is in the muggle world." McAlister explained. "Some of the main publications, at least in Britain are heavily influenced by the Ministry so the media is not so much a disseminator of information as it is a propaganda machine. Dumbledore's failures or indiscretions would only have been reported if it was politically expedient to do so and given that he was the most powerful political figure there were few that would dare to go against him."

"So what happens now? The US government is going to expect to see action taken." O'Neill asked.

McAlister shrugged. He was part of the American Ministry; he would have no say in what happened.

Michaels however was able to theorize on the repercussions. "We've been keeping an eye on the wizarding world for some time. When Voldemort's followers began attacking once again we realized that we may need to take action. In the past we'd always left it up to the wizards to solve their own problems but more and more those problems have been spilling into our world. With this latest development I can only guess that the British Ministry will no longer be allowed freedom or latitude. They may become another Ministry within the greater British government. Luckily, that is not something I have to figure out."

O'Neill smiled for the first time in hours. "Tell me about it, I have a hard enough time dealing with the SGC. I couldn't even begin to imagine the amount of paperwork I would have to go through to manage that."

"That's what assistants are for."

-----

"John, what did General O'Neill say? Can I go back to Colorado with you? I really don't want to stay here." Jason rambled.

John could see that his brother was exhausted and not just physically. Not for the first time he wanted to put a bullet in the people behind this. Jason should never have had to go through this; he should never have had to kill people.

"I don't think the General had any intention of letting you stay here." John was happy to see how much that single answer relaxed his brother. The tension seemed to drain from him now that he knew he wouldn't have to go back and face what had happened, at least not yet. "And he said that Daniel and Teal'c could get your things. They are going to meet us on the Prometheus."

Jason actually grinned. The last time he'd been on the Prometheus he'd been unconscious so he hadn't gotten a chance to look around. Sure he'd flown in a Puddle Jumper but even then John hadn't gone into space. There was something different about going onto a man-made spaceship, it just seemed so cool and for a moment he was able to forget about everything else that happened. "Can I get a tour? How long will it take to get to Colorado?"

Jason's enthusiasm was infectious. John laughed at the way his brother was practically bouncing on his feet. "I don't know if there will be time, it only took us a half hour to get here. But I promise you can get a tour of the Daedelus when we go back to Atlantis. General O'Neill told me you'd be coming back with us."

"Will Elizabeth and Carson be going with us too?"

"Yep and Rodney along with a whole lot of new people that are joining the expedition."

There was no missing the sour expression on Jason's face when he heard Rodney was going to be there too.

"Hey don't worry about Rodney. I'll make sure he doesn't cause any problems. Just don't go avoiding me to stay away from him; I need to keep an eye on you."

"John, I'm not a little a kid anymore." Jason whined and crossed his arms over his chest for emphasis. At the same time, he couldn't deny that there was a part of him that was pleased that John wasn't going to ignore him again.

Jason and John didn't leave for the Prometheus until after they'd eaten dinner. There wouldn't be enough time to eat on the Prometheus. While they were eating, John brought up another subject.

"Hey Jason, I need you to do me a favor. I need you to figure out what you'd like to do, you know from a school perspective."

Jason swallowed the bite of meatloaf and took a quick drink of Coke before saying. "What do you mean? Are there teachers going to Atlantis? I thought I was working with Carson?"

"General O'Neill wants to make sure that you don't miss out on anything by being in Atlantis. If the Wraith ever forced us back to Earth what would you do? You won't have had a college education and it's not like you could put Atlantis on a resume."

"Oh." Jason replied simply. It wasn't something he'd really thought about. He liked working with Carson in the infirmary but he wasn't really sure that he wanted to be a doctor. "Umm, I'll have to think about it. How would it work though? Unless it was in something to do with science or the military, who would be around to give me classes or whatever?"

John shrugged. He had finished eating already and pushed his tray away from him. The only thing he had in his hands was a half-full cup of coffee. "I'm not sure. General O'Neill and Elizabeth were going to come up with something. Between Atlantis and the SGC we can find people in most fields. Probably about the only area that might be difficult would business or some of the fine arts."

"Do you really see me getting a desk job at some company after this? How could it possibly compare to anything that we are doing in Atlantis? I suppose there is always the wizarding world, but after today…"

"Yeah I didn't think you would be rushing to get a job there anytime soon. But seriously, think about the type of work you like to do at Atlantis, that might help."

"Ok, but I can't believe you're going to make me go to school, that's just mean." Jason grumbled good naturedly.

After that they radioed the Prometheus that they were ready to be transported. The feeling wasn't too different than apparating but it was a little disconcerting at first because he was not in control. Once onboard the vessel, Jason relaxed for the first time, now that he was away from the wizards and more attacks.

**October ****19****th****St. James, UK**

Cornelius was not in a good mood. His audience with the Queen had been postponed for a day. He had been scheduled to meet with her the previous day but at the last minute, the time had been changed. A muggle should have been more accommodating of his busy schedule regardless of whether it was the Queen or not. To make matters worse, his men had failed to report back and there were missing squads from the Aurors and Unspeakables. If things had gone badly in Suffolk he would have surely heard something by now. The only bright side was that Albus was silent as well maybe someone had finally killed the old man.

Per custom, Cornelius took a special portkey that was provided to him by the Royal wizard corp. He detested dealing with them; they refused to bow before his authority as the Minister of Magic. Rightfully, they should've been under his command but instead they reported only to the Queen. It was galling that any wizards or witches would report to a muggle, the Queen's authority over the wizarding world was a courtesy and nothing more in his mind. Like many of the Pure Bloods of the wizarding world, Cornelius had no real idea of the advancements made in the muggle world and how in many ways they had surpassed those in the wizarding world.

On arriving, he was met by a trio of wizards dressed in the midnight blue uniforms of the Royal Wizard Corp similar in style to the old naval uniforms. It was an effort to contain his sneer; they were sad examples if they couldn't even dress properly. In contrast, Cornelius was wearing finely tailored black silk wizarding robes. Even his ever present bowler hat was black instead of the normal bottle green.

"Your wand Minister." One of the nameless wizards ordered while holding his hand out.

"What? Why? I will not give you my…" Anything else he might have said was stopped when he realized that the two other wizards had their wands out and pointed at him. Rather than give up his wand, he tried to apparate desperately only to find himself thrown back by the anti-apparition wards. While he struggled to his feet, the first wizard reached out and snagged his wand.

"I will not stand for this. I am the Minister of Magic! The Queen will hear of this believe me." Cornelius blustered. He'd never been manhandled like this before on any of his visits and he was at a loss to understand why it was happening now.

"This is done by the Queen's order." The first wizard said quite calmly and pushed Cornelius out of the door. "In fact, she is quite interested to talk to you about the events that took place yesterday in Suffolk. I believe '_Minister_' that you have a bit of explaining to do."

"You don't honestly expect me to explain myself to a muggle…" Cornelius cried out in pain when one of the wizards cuffed him across his face. The blow wasn't hard enough to draw blood but it was enough to shake the man.

"She is your Queen and you will obey her."

"I will not be treated this way. She has no right…" This time the blow was hard enough to break the skin and a trickle of blood ran from the corner of his mouth.

"Your government only exists on her sufferance. Are you ignorant of the fact that the magic giving the Ministry legitimacy is based on the original oaths to the Crown?"

"No, that isn't possible. Do you expect me to believe that some oaths made hundreds of years ago are still valid?" To himself, Cornelius was scoffing that wizards or witches would ever swear an oath of fealty to a muggle, the very idea was ludicrous. It was too bad that he couldn't bring any others with him, now he was going to have to dispatch a team of Obliviators to get rid this mess.

"Are you willing to test it?" The wizard asked curiously.

Cornelius never got a chance to answer because at that point they reached the doors to the Queen's audience chamber. The doors opened and he was shoved roughly inside.

Queen Elizabeth was sitting regally in a richly adorned chair waiting. She'd asked the Royal wizards to be a little rough with the Minister; she wanted him to be off balance when he appeared before her. By the look of outrage on his face, her orders had been followed.

In his indignation, Cornelius addressed the Queen as an equal. "Elizabeth, I demand that these men be arrested!"

A gasp was heard from the others in the room at the affront.

The Queen regarded the red-faced man with a cool detachment. "I did not realize we were on a first name basis. You are lucky that I didn't have you brought before me in chains." As she addressed the man, her voice got colder until it was filled with a cold fury.

Cornelius was not the brightest wizard but he was an accomplished politician. "You majesty, I apologize I was merely upset over my rough treatment at the hands of your retainers."

The Queen was reluctantly impressed by the man's ability to pull himself back from the brink. "Your apologies are unwanted. What I do want is the reason you saw fit to start a war with the United States of America by attacking one of their citizens and a military unit?"

Cornelius was lost. He'd never authorized any attacks against the upstarts in the former colonies. "Your Majesty I would never do such a thing but if you can provide me names, I will see that they are suitably punished."

"Would you have me believe that your own personal guards acted without your permission?"

She watched as the Minister paled and then looked confused again.

"I never authorized my men to attack a US citizen."

"No, you told them to attack an 18 year old boy on sight. Well, you'll be happy to know that they did just that. Fortunately for you, the boy was not hurt but there were a number of deaths. No tell me why!"

"Harry Potter?" He blurted without thinking. "He's a threat, who knows what dark magic he's been studying. Albus Dumbledore himself…"

"Is also in custody and the man will be facing the consequences of his actions for quite some time. But that still leaves you and the government that I have ignored for far too long."

Sadly, Cornelius reacted by force of habit when his position was threatened. He blustered and threatened and then ultimately tried to flee. Each of these proved to be fruitless and did nothing more than dig the hole deeper.

The Queen was not impressed with the man before her. She never had been, he always struck her as an opportunistic bottom feeder. For more than two centuries though, the Crown had taken a hands off approach to the wizarding world. Now, she was faced with the prospect of trying to take a backwards and bigoted world under her direct control. It wouldn't be permanent but she would have to make sure that there were competent leaders in place before she could step back once again.

Finally, the Queen grew tired of the man's ranting and posturing. "Cornelius" She began intentionally using the man's name rather than title. "We have heard testimony from all those involved. Your involvement in this tragedy is undeniable. In accordance with the oaths of fealty sworn so long ago, I find that the Ministry of Magic to be derelict. Until such time that I am convinced we have rooted out the corruption within the government, your independence will be suspended."

"You can't do this! We will never stand for this outrage!"

The Queen's hand slammed down on the arm of her chair in anger. "You will submit or you will never step foot on British soil again. Take this filth from my sight!" She ordered.

Two of the wizards stepped forward and grabbed Cornelius' arms and began to pull him from the room.

"Maxwell, you will lead up the investigation of the Ministry. I want a full review of all laws, trials, and Ministry personnel. I will appoint an interim Minister shortly to take charge."

The last wizard nodded his head and left the room as well.

Queen Elizabeth was left to thoughts. She could not place all the blame on the wizards. Her family had left them to their own devices ignoring all the warning signs because it was easier than trying to deal with the often bigoted group. She would see to it that the previous day's tragedy wouldn't happen again.


	16. The Race

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

**A/N: ****It is back to the SG-1/SGA world. Also, as I have done previously I will mention and potentially summarize episodes but unless Harry impacts the plot there won't be much detail.**

**Chapter ****1****6:**** The Race**

**October ****23****rd, ****Wraith Hive Ship, Pegasus Galaxy**

Mors'la strode into the bridge of the Hive ship in search of his lord. He'd been surprised to find that Shezz'la wasn't in his chambers. He'd to search for him telepathically; it was never good to draw the lord's attention unnecessarily.

Mors'la moved with the confidence and air of menace that was common to the Wraith. But this particular Wraith stood out from the other commanders serving under Shezz'la, he'd been one of the first to swear fealty to him and still bore the scars he earned when defending his leader from a rival's attack. One scar in particular was a deep furrow across the right side of his face straight across his eye, though his eye had healed, the scar never faded.

The bridge was dotted with consoles manned by various Wraith. None of them were worth his attention but the center most console was different. It had only a single Wraith standing over it. "Shezz'la, I have news."

Shezz'la continued to look over the console for a moment before looking up. It showed the latest movements of the other Wraith lords. According to his latest intelligence, a pair of lords had formed an alliance to lay siege to Atlantis. Outside of the Wraith themselves, few knew of the existence of the Wraith lords. Most of the human cattle assumed it was the queens that provided leadership. That was true for individual Hive ships but the Wraith lords stood above the queens and controlled fleets of vessels.

It was with a certain amount of annoyance that he looked up to see who was interrupting him. His normally gruff voice came out as a low growl. "What is it?"

Mors'la remained where was but he had long ago grown accustomed to Shezz'la and his moods. "The commanders of 5 more cruisers and 1 Hive ship have requested an audience. They have agreed to swear oaths of fealty to you."

A predatory grin spread over the Wraith lord's face. "You've done well Mors'la. The additional forces will only add to our strength. Soon we will have more to join us."

Shezz'la pointed towards a large battle group that had been formed on the far side of the galaxy. The number of ships involved would pose a threat to their forces if they attacked; it was only the orbital defenses that had been established on key worlds that would turn the tide should they ever be attacked.

"I don't understand. Are they moving to attack?"

"Yes but they are not moving towards my territory. The fools are going to throw themselves against Atlantis."

Now Mors'la understood. He nodded but otherwise stayed where he was. It would be unwise to approach Shezz'la without explicit invitation. So he said simply. "With your permission, I will dispatch a ship to a nearby system. We can approach the survivors when the main force has been destroyed."

Shezz'la nodded in approval. Mors'la had proven his loyalty centuries ago so there was little doubt or concern in his mind that ulterior motives were not at play. The same could not be said for all of his commanders but they knew the price for disloyalty and failure.

"Has any progress been made with the Lantian lab world?"

"Your forces were able to breach the outer structure. We believe that the Lantians were somehow able to incorporate a shield into the structure itself so that as long as there was power, the structure was impenetrable."

"Were they able to retrieve any usable data?" If they were able to complete the weapon themselves, then he would never need to risk his own forces against the Lantians. Already he was making plans for such a strike but he wanted as many of the remaining cruisers and Hive ships behind him as possible. The Lantians would be destroyed this time and there would be nothing to stand in his way. The galaxy would be his and his alone to command.

Mors'la grimaced slightly even if it would be hard for any non-Wraith to tell given their normal expressions. Thankfully, he was not in charge of this operation, he'd only been informed of the status. "No, the outer structure only served to house a transport pad. We've been unable to power it up or determine its destination point."

For a moment, Mors'la thought Shezz'la might strike him, but the glint of anger faded quickly from the Wraith lord's eyes. Instead he ordered something far scarier, at least for the target of his wrath. "Bring me the one in charge, I will personally ensure that he is motivated to work harder."

**October ****2****5****th, ****Colorado Springs, CO **

The trip back from the UK had been quick and uneventful. Presently, Jason was staying in John's apartment. It had been empty the entire time he was in Atlantis, but the SGC kept it clean for him should he ever need it.

Jason had gone to the SGC once to talk with Dr. Weir and Carson. It seemed that they had come up with a grand idea for him to continue his education. Days later he still grumbled to himself about the whole thing. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate what they were doing or that he wanted to go through life without even a high school diploma but it struck him as unfair. How could anyone be expected to study when they were in another galaxy?

John had been there as well of course but he'd been no help whatsoever. In fact, he was egging the others on seemingly in full support of the ridiculous notion. To make matters worse, Jason would have to finish up his senior year and pass a high school equivalency test.

The only saving grace of the whole situation was that he no longer needed to figure out what he wanted to do with his life before they left for Atlantis. The method that they'd come up with for teaching would give them a lot of flexibility and when you added the fact that any college degree required similar general education requirements, he had a lot of work to do before he ever had to make a firm decision.

It seemed that the SGC had gotten a hold of some virtual reality technology from one of the early missions. One of the uses that they were working on was to develop training programs that could be used for new recruits. It would be a safe way to simulate off world environments and situations without any risk. From what he'd also learned, there had been some initial difficulties with the programs; the programs continued to increase the difficulty of the scenarios without stop until it had almost resulted in Teal'c's death. Supposedly the kinks had been worked out since then but unless there was more to the senior of High School than he knew, Jason doubted he would be in any danger. It also meant that once he figured out what he wanted to do, they would be able to create programs for the courses based on actual lectures without having to bring in additional people.

Reluctantly, Jason was forced to admit that if he had to continue his education this approach was pretty good. It wouldn't be too different than when he was spending hours in the Control Chair. Carson had already weighed in of course; he wanted to limit Jason's use of the simulators to 4 -5 hours a day which would still leave Jason more than ample time to help out in other areas, or just to relax.

However, since that day at the SGC, John hadn't been around too much. He was involved with screening the military personnel that would be joining the expedition. The only positive news Jason had heard about this was another promotion for John, this time to Lieutenant Colonel. Again, it was somewhat forced because Elizabeth refused to allow someone else come in and replace John so the Air Force had really had no other option but to promote him.

With everyone at the SGC and James and Thomas not arriving until the 25th, Jason had been left to his own devices. Normally, he wouldn't have minded but with nothing to distract him, he was beginning to brood and obsess on the battle in Suffolk. John had been right when he told Jason that there would be nightmares.

The first two nights, John had woken him up from up from horrible nightmares where he saw the faces of the men that died accusing him and calling him a murderer. It was only when John and James joined in that it became unbearable. When John had finally managed to wake him up, each time he'd been covered in sweat and trembling. John never said anything, he just sat there in the dark with his arm around Jason's shoulders comforting him and soothing him until he was finally able to fall asleep again.

The dreams hadn't been as bad after that but he was still seeing the faces of the dead almost every night. Jason had already resigned himself to visiting Dr. Heightmeyer when they got back to Atlantis. No matter how much he whined about it, he knew he was stuck. John had already told him that there was no getting out of it.

Despite the nightmares, Jason woke up on the 25th eager to start the day. Thomas and James were scheduled to arrive this morning. They would be staying with Jason and John for the next 10 days. It was going to be a great chance for Jason to relax, see his dad before they had to go back to Atlantis and of course get to know his brother.

After eating a quick breakfast, Jason took a shower and got dressed. John had left the car for Jason to use so at 10am, Jason left and drove to the airport. Traffic was light so it didn't take him long. Once he'd parked, Jason walked in and looked around searching for the international portkey gate. It was covered by a glamour that only wizards and witches could see through.

Wandering around the terminal, Jason finally found it 15 minutes later. Fortunately, there was no sign of James or Thomas so their portkey hadn't arrived yet. With nothing else to do, he found a newsstand and picked up the latest issue of Sports Illustrated.

There had been so much going on that Jason hadn't even thought about baseball for months. It was with more than a little excitement that Jason began to read the latest issue. The issue recapped the Yankees' latest win in the World Series. Too bad they'd won so quickly otherwise he might have had a chance to see a game. He'd been so engrossed in the magazine that he didn't even notice when James and Thomas arrived.

It was only the sound of someone clearing their throat that broke him away from the game recaps.

James didn't miss the way that Jason jumped slightly or the brief flash of magic in his eyes when he looked up. Though it faded quickly when he recognized who was standing over him.

Jason stood and gave his dad a quick hug. "How was the trip?"

James stepped back and got a good look at Jason. He looked ok, a little tired, but he seemed to be dealing with everything. "Not too bad. But here let me introduce you to your brother."

Thomas had been waiting a little impatiently. He couldn't help but feel just a little bit jealous of Jason. His brother was good looking, smart, and according to his dad more powerful than Dumbledore. Privately, Thomas had difficulty believing that last one, he'd been tutored by the man for years and it was difficult for him to believe than anyone, especially his brother, was as powerful as his old mentor.

As much as he wanted to meet Jason and get to know him, he could still hear his mother's voice in the back of his head telling him how worthless Jason was. That couldn't be right though could it? Because in the end, the prophecy was about his brother but did that even mean anything? From everything his dad had said, it was the Unspeakables that had killed Voldemort not Jason, so maybe the prophecy was never valid to begin with.

"Jason, this is Thomas. Thomas this is your younger brother Jason." James said the last part with a smile.

Jason and Thomas shook hands a little awkwardly. Neither of them really knew what to say to each other.

In order to break the ice, Jason looked around and saw their luggage. There was surprisingly little. "It doesn't look like you brought much with you? Are you planning to do some shopping while you're here in the States, get some proper clothes?" He was trying to lighten the sudden heavy atmosphere with a little humor.

Thomas just stood there, leaning on his cane slightly, looking at him with a confused expression. "No, most of our stuff is in dad's pocket. We shrunk it. I thought you knew magic. Dad is always going on about how good you are."

James frowned a little at the comment but before he could respond Jason answered.

He wasn't totally surprised by his brother's attitude. It has to be difficult learning that you aren't the hero and to hear about how strong and proficient your brother is had to be a blow. For now, he could be the bigger person and let the jab go but if necessary, and he sincerely hoped it wouldn't be, he would set his brother straight. "Yeah well I suppose I am pretty good after going through 6 years of training with the Unspeakables, it would be hard not to be. Still, I spend most of my time outside of the wizarding world so I don't really think about using magic for everyday things like luggage and what not."

"Oh, um, why don't you live in the wizarding world? Isn't it better than living with muggles?"

Jason gritted his teeth. His brother sounded like one of those pureblood bigots he'd read about. More and more he was appreciating the fact that he'd been raised outside of the wizarding world and away from that particular prejudice. Ever since the attack, he'd been especially sensitive to the motivations of the wizarding world and to hear them coming from his brother just set him on edge.

Both Jason and James looked around, they were in a public place and it wasn't really the best spot for this conversation. "Maybe we should head home and pick this up there." Jason suggested tactfully. It also would give him time to cool off, assuming his brother didn't say anything else idiotic.

"Aren't we apparating?" Asked Thomas.

"No, I drove here. There is no real wizarding neighborhood in Colorado Springs, so it is easier to get around without magic, unless you are inside." Explained Jason patiently.

Jason grabbed one of the two bags. James grabbed the other and then he and Thomas followed Jason through the airport back to the car. The Ford Explorer SUV was more than big enough to fit the two bags and seat the three of them comfortably.

Thomas, who had only been in a car once before, actually enjoyed the ride. It wasn't nearly as much fun as flying on a broom but there was something to be said for it none-the-less. "How does this thing work? Can anyone do it?"

Jason kept his eyes on the road but James turned around in the seat to stare at Thomas in surprise. This was the first time that James knew of that Thomas expressed interest in anything to do with the muggle world. "Sorry Tommy, you have to get a license to drive. When we're back in London I will give you some lessons. How does that sound?"

"Really, that would be great!" Tommy said enthusiastically. "How fast does this thing go?"

Jason grinned at his brother in the mirror. It seemed like everyone in the Potter family was something of a speed junky. "This beast doesn't go too fast. At best probably it probably goes 100 or 120 miles per hour. But if you really like to go fast John might be able to get you both on a training flight on a jet."

Any ground that Tommy had made with Jason was lost almost as quickly. "Why would we want to do that? I already have one of the best brooms on the market. What could the muggles have that could be better than that?"

James actually groaned and sunk lower in is seat. "Tommy, I know you haven't had a lot of exposure to the muggle world but in many respects they can do things that we never thought possible."

"Oh come on dad, you don't have to say that just because Jason is here."

Unbeknownst to Jason, he repeated something that John had said years ago. "Ok Tommy, tell me how fast does your '_best broom on the market_' goes."

James smiled and nodded encouragingly at Tommy. Unlike Jason, he remembered something John had told him and had a feeling that Tommy was about to have a big shock.

"It goes more than 200 kilometers an hour and with the right wind it can go even faster." Tommy said proudly.

Jason didn't bother hiding his smirk as he turned into the parking lot of the apartment complex. "Well, when I was 9, John got me on a training flight with one of the fighter jets." Jason paused for a second as he pulled into the parking space and turned off the engine. With the car off, he turned around and looked Tommy straight in the eye and finished telling his little story. "I think the pilot told me that we topped out around 2700 kph." Jason's smirk changed to a broad smile but it wasn't filled with laughter but one of a fond memory. "John always got me the best birthday presents."

Tommy didn't want to believe his brother but he saw his dad nod his head in agreement. Grudgingly he admitted that maybe the muggle world had something to offer even though he still didn't entirely believe his brother or dad.

Despite the rocky beginning, Jason was still willing to cut his brother some slack. After all, he'd been the celebrity of the wizarding world for most of his life; he'd probably never even been outside of it until he was put into a coma. Of course, that patience wouldn't last forever so he decided to give his brother a little warning at the same time.

"Before you go acting all superior again because you have magic, take a look around and see what there is outside of the wizarding world. I'm not saying that magic isn't great, just that there are lots of things that magic can't accomplish that technology has."

Tommy crossed his arms in front of his chest stubbornly. "Fine!"

Jason smirked because at that moment his brother reminded him very much of a stubborn scientist who had thankfully begun to come around. "Cool, let's inside and get something to eat."

The idea of food was enough for everyone to forget about any arguments or insults. Together, they made their way inside the apartment building.

**October ****25****th, ****Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

"Captain Harris, please report to the control room. I repeat Captain Harris; please report to the control room." Radek Zelenka's voice rang out of the radio.

Harris groaned. He'd just gotten back to his quarters and was going to lie down. God he couldn't wait for Major Sheppard to get back. Before he'd always thought that he wanted to be in charge, run the show. Now that he'd been doing it for a couple of weeks along with Teyla and Zelenka he had quite a different opinion.

As soon as the group had left for Earth it seemed like no one could make a decision on their own anymore. Everything, absolutely everything required his attention or input. It was so maddening, how the hell was he supposed to prioritize research projects. It helped that he had Teyla and Zelenka but for some reason both of them were content to let him take the lead in much of the day-to-day running of Atlantis. For Teyla it made sense, there was still a little unease around her because of her Wraith DNA but Zelenka should have been eager to make sure that the civilians didn't get steamrollered by the military.

If he wasn't so god damned tired, Harris would have been happy for the excuse not to sleep. Every time he fell asleep he saw the faces of his two men, the ones that had been captured and tortured by the Wraith. The monsters had left them as a present in space near the planet with a transmitter attached so that it would be impossible to miss them.

How do you explain to their families why the faces of their sons and brothers are frozen in pain and terror? How do you tell them that you couldn't even rescue them; that you had to leave them behind even if it was because there was no possible hope of finding them?

Harris didn't have any answers to these questions. All he could do is treat the bodies with the respect that they deserved and ensure that they were returned to their loved ones back on Earth. Most families wouldn't be so lucky.It was a cold comfort though and did little to alleviate the almost constant nag of guilt that he was feeling.

Before he left his quarters, Harris took a look in the mirror and decided he'd better clean up first. Things were still tense in Atlantis; everyone was waiting for the other shoe to drop even though the first Wraith assault had been defeated. So, as minor as it was, his appearance could have an impact on morale. If he arrived looking sloppy or frankly like shit, as he did currently, than people might think that one of their leaders had given up.

15 minutes later after having cleaned up, Harris made his way to the control room, nodding at the soldiers and scientists that he passed along the way. The people in the room were buzzing. Something had happened and it was inevitable that it would be bad.

"What is Radek?" Since they'd begun working together, the two had formed a good friendship. It may have been unprofessional from a military perspective to address the man by his first name but at the same time it spoke to the trust that had quickly developed between the two men. "What has everyone around here buzzing?"

Radek looked as tired as Harris felt. There was a part of him that felt satisfaction that his friend wasn't dealing with the pressures of leading Atlantis any better than he was. In fact, the only member of their trio that was unaffected by the temporary position was Teyla, but she was accustomed to leading her people so it wasn't new to her.

Radek moved over to the long range sensors control panel and pressed a series of control buttons. The main screen flashed and changed to display a large number of ships.

"What am I looking at here?"

"It's another Wraith fleet; much larger than before. We are picking up twelve Hive ships and close to 30 cruisers."

'Fuck!' Harris thought. It was no surprise that the Wraith were attacking again, but this was 4 times as many ships as before and they had barely held them off the first time. How were they supposed to beat so many ships?

"How long do we have?"

Radek looked at him gravely before answering. Harris knew he wasn't going to like whatever it was that his friend had to say.

"18 days possibly 21 days if they make any side trips." This was a time that Radek was glad he wasn't in the military. There would be long hours ahead for him as they tried to come up with options but the military would be on the front lines of the conflict, sacrificing themselves for the civilian population. It wasn't a position he envied but it was one that he respected greatly.

3 weeks or less, that wasn't a lot of time. The Daedelus couldn't make it back from Earth in that amount of time. Unless there was a way to get Jason Sheppard back here than they would only have the rail guns to fall back on for defense and he knew that they wouldn't stand a chance against a force that size.

"Can we get the shield up?"

Radek shook his head. "No, when we were brought it down after the last attack we must have triggered some hidden defense. All the security protocols on the systems controlled by the Chair had been initialized. Without Jason Sheppard, we are defenseless."

Harris began to pace back and forth while his mind was racing for any possible solutions. They had seen that a single Puddle Jumper was strong enough to take out a Hive ship but there were few pilots that were as talented as Major Sheppard. Most would be blown away long before they could do the kind of damage necessary to cripple or destroy the massive ships. And without the Daedelus, there was no mechanism for beaming nukes onto the Wraith vessels if they had any nukes to begin with.

"We need to contact the SGC. They need to know what's going on. If necessary, we can send everyone back through the gate and destroy Atlantis."

**October ****26****th, ****Colorado Springs ****CO**

James and Jason were sitting in the back of a darkened movie theater. It was mostly empty but for the three of them. Thomas had moved up to the first row wanting to be closer to the massive screen. The movie was Armageddon and had been out for quite some time, hence the lack of an audience, which was probably a good thing given how spastic Thomas was acting.

Neither Jason nor James was particularly interested in the movie. Instead, James was filling Jason in on what was going on in the wizarding world.

"I hate to say it Jason but I'm actually glad you came to the states with John. Things are getting ugly back there."

Jason turned away from the screen to focus more on his dad. After he took a sip of coke he asked "Why? What's been happening?"

"It's a mess. Dumbledore and Fudge stirred up a bees' hive. It didn't take long for the Daily Prophet to break the news of the attack."

Jason's snort of amusement was overshadowed by the explosion of a space station on the movie screen.

"I'm sure it is quite the riveting tale too if I remember the crap they used to write about Tommy." In the short time that James and Thomas had been in the US, Jason had already picked up on Thomas' nick-name.

James' forced laugh was more than enough to tell Jason that he wasn't going to like what he was going to be told.

"The Purebloods are outraged that muggles are stepping in and trying to reign in the Ministry. There have been attacks against Muggleborns and their families. It isn't as bad as it was with Voldemort but that doesn't mean much to those families."

Jason turned his attention fully to James now, the movie completely forgotten. "What the hell is wrong with those people? Sometimes I wonder if magic should be taught at all, it's worse than giving a loaded gun to a child."

"Come on Jason, you know that there are a lot of good witches and wizards. It's just that some of the bad ones know how to make a splash." James argued softly.

"Whatever…so what is the Queen doing about it?" He didn't want to get into an argument about it with his dad. It was true that there were lots of good witches and wizards; the problem was they never did anything. They let the Death Eaters or group de jour run roughshod over them, at least according to the recent history he'd read. After seeing John or Teyla stand up for others in the face of the Wraith, Jason didn't think it was right to stand by and do nothing or simply hope that someone would come along to save you.

"It's strange to actually have a competent leader. Of course, it's barely been even a week but she has already approved funding to increase the Auror force, started a review of all laws as well as any trials. Personally, I think that's the real problem. Sure the Purebloods hate the idea of bowing down to a muggle but they're more afraid that they are going to lose power if she throws out all the old laws or reviews some of the more questionable criminal trials."

"Do you think you're a target? Is that why you're happy I'm over here?"

A particularly loud explosion made both of them jump before James replied.

"The Prophet…it's…well, they are saying you orchestrated the whole thing as a way to discredit Dumbledore and Fudge."

"What?!!!"

James shook his head and held up his hand to stop Jason. "I know it's ridiculous and for once the public isn't buying it. It's just too outrageous. But the Purebloods are using you as a poster boy to rally support against the Queen."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!"

"I wish I were. Because of you, the Queen got involved in the wizarding world again. Of course, the bastards don't seem to care that you were the one attacked or that you had nothing to do with the government getting involved. It was all because of Dumbledore and Fudge."

Jason didn't even know what to say. He'd managed to escape the celebrity of being known as the Boy-Who-Lived. All it took was a quick perusal of recent history to see how well that had done for his brother. Even with Voldemort's death, they'd been able to give the credit to the Unspeakables so he wasn't hounded for that. Now because of some old wizard's insane obsession with him, he was being used as a rallying point to attack muggles and rebel against the crown. Only in the British wizarding world could something like this happen. No, that wasn't fair, the American wizarding world was fucked up in its own way too; the politicians just weren't quite as corrupt.

"But…but…but…" He kept stuttering trying to get his brain to process everything. "Won't the truth come out at the trial? I mean this is just stupid. I never even lived in the wizarding world." He knew he was rambling somewhat but it was a lot to take in.

James put his arm around Jason's shoulders to calm him down a little. "I hope so but while most people will believe the worst of Fudge it is going to be hard to destroy all of the support that Dumbledore has. He's been revered for so long that people will just assume that he had a good reason for leading that attack against you in Suffolk."

Jason struggled with himself for a moment trying to decided how he should feel. At first he was pissed off, not only had the leaders of the British wizarding world attacked him for absolutely no reason but now he was being practically driven from ever going back because of it, not that he wanted to. He'd decided a day after arriving in Colorado Springs that he would only go back to the wizarding world if he absolutely had to. That society had nothing to offer him as far as he was concerned. He was doing something important now, something that could change the face of an entire galaxy. When you compared the two, the wizarding world fell far short of the mark. That was it right there, that was his answer. He'd already made up his mind it just felt like the decision was being taken out of his hands which is probably what was bugging him more than anything. Plus, he didn't want to see his dad, Tommy, Sirius or a handful of others get caught in the crossfire of this little uprising.

"You know what, fuck them! I don't give a shit what they do!" Jason hissed out harshly.

"Jason?"

"No, why the fuck should I care as far I'm concerned they can go screw themselves." Jason was breathing harder now.

James had a sinking feeling that there was more to Jason's anger than just the current events. He couldn't blame his son either; it wasn't as if he didn't have cause. "I know you're upset but…"

"Of course I'm upset; they're using me as an excuse to kill people. Wouldn't you be upset too? I don't want you or Tommy to get hurt but the one I feel sorry for is the Queen. She's the one who is going to be stuck cleaning up this mess."

James lost a little of his tension when Jason finished. It was good to know that he wasn't lumping his family in with everyone else.

After that, they settled into silence. Each of them was considering the future of the wizarding world and their place in it or in Jason's case, his lack of place.

The movie played on and Jason found himself laughing in parts that most people probably thought were total fiction. The space shuttles were so primitive compared to the Puddle Jumpers or even the Daedelus. He could just imagine kids or other teenagers his age watching this movie and wanting to go into space. Unlike any of them, he'd already been in space, once in a Puddle Jumper which he could remember clearly and once when he was on the Daedelus, that he only really remembered brief flashes of.

Finally, the movie ended and the credits began to roll. Tommy came bounding back up to meet them on the way out of the theater. He was bouncing with excitement, describing all his favorite parts of the movie.

Jason shook his head and laughed. When his brother first arrived, he'd dismissed everything that the muggle world had to offer. All it took was a ride in a car, one night watching TV, and movie for Tommy to see the light.

"See I told you that there were some cool things that you couldn't get with magic." Jason nudged his brother good naturedly.

"Yeah, yeah but I still don't know why you don't use magic to cook and clean. It would be so much easier."

"True, but I've lived without it for so long that I never even think about it until everything is pretty much done anyway. Besides it's not that bad, there are worse chores believe me."

The ride home was short. There was little traffic since it was still mid-afternoon. When they pulled into the parking lot, Jason noticed that there was what looked like a security team outside the building. Tommy was oblivious but he and James shared a nervous glance before heading up to see what was going on.

Inside the apartment, John was packing his clothes and anything else he wanted to bring back to Atlantis. The Wraith had chosen a good time to attack. Unless they were able to get Jason back there, the city would be destroyed.

For the first time in his life, John found himself thanking the wizarding world. They were the only chance they had of being able to get back to Atlantis. There was no ZPM on Earth to power the Stargate so that was out. The Daedelus would never make it back in time, the trip to between 3 and 4 weeks. No, there only hope was to use the Veil in the Ministry of Magic, the same Veil that Jason had used to reach Atlantis the first time.

"John? You here?" Jason's voice called out from the main room.

John didn't bother calling back. He just put the t-shirt he was holding into the duffle bag and walked back out to meet his brother and break the news. For just a second John grimaced when he saw James and Tommy, in all the rush to get some kind of defense together for Atlantis he'd actually forgotten that they were visiting.

Jason saw the look on John's face and knew without a doubt that something had happened. "Hey Tommy, why don't you go see if there is anything on TV. I'm going to see what we can do for dinner."

Tommy practically bounced over to the couch and used the remote control to turn on the TV. Ironically, he began watching the same cartoons that Jason used to watch when he was kid and wanted ideas for how to work with his magic.

For now John just ignored James. He would speak to the man, he would have to but he needed Jason to get ready. "Jason, you need to get packed. We need to head back."

"But…"

John cut him off and glanced at James. "I need to talk to James, just please I'll fill you in once you are packed but time is really a factor."

Jason was thrown but just nodded and left for the room he was sharing with his brother.

James was unceremoniously dragged into John's room before he could protest or ask what the hell was going on.

"Ok John what the hell is going on? We just got here yesterday and now you're saying that you have to leave and Jason is going with you?" James was trying unsuccessfully to keep his voice down.

John eyes rolled up to the ceiling at the same time he sat down on the edge of his bed. It was obvious he was figuring out what he could and couldn't tell James. "Fuck this is annoying."

"Just spit it out John, who the hell am I going to tell?"

As much as he wanted to just admit everything to James, he couldn't do it. The rules had been ingrained into him for too long and he certainly was against breaking them when necessary but the sad fact of the matter was that this wasn't one of those times.

"I…ok...the base that Jason and I are stationed at is going to be coming under attack."

John didn't get any further because James practically exploded. "And you expect me to let you put Jason in danger like that?! I can't believe that you would do something like that, I thought that you loved him!"

"Dad that's enough." Jason was standing in the doorway. He cast a silencing spell around the room so that Tommy wouldn't hear what was going on.

"Jason…" John warned.

"No, he needs to know, deserves to know. You'll get in trouble but I'm not military."

"Doesn't matter, all civilians signed a non-disclosure…" John trailed off. His brother had never signed a non-disclosure agreement. Theoretically, he could lose some or all of his clearance but legally there wasn't anything that could be done to stop him.

James was standing in between Jason and John and he wasn't sure who to be watching. In the end Jason solved it for him by moving over and sitting next to John.

"Dad, the base is Atlantis."

Apparently John wasn't the only one getting cut off because James jumped in again. "Why is a military base named Atlantis?"

Jason rolled his eyes and huffed in annoyance. "It's the actual city of Atlantis, look I know this is going to be hard to believe but…" Jason went on to explain the highlights of the Ancients and how they left Earth millions of years ago.

James kept trying to ask questions until John finally get fed up and said bluntly. "Just shut up and listen, you can ask questions later."

James found the whole story very hard to believe but John was nodding along and seemed to know the entire story as well.

"When the Ancients left, they went to the nearby Pegasus galaxy. And the reason I have to go back with John is because I'm the only one that can operate the city's defense." Jason paused and took a deep breath. "Dad the enemy that is attacking Atlantis, they've killed billions of people. No that's not right, they don't just kill people, they literally rip the life force from the bodies. It's like food to them. If we don't go back…"

"3 weeks James, the Wraith will be above Atlantis in 3 weeks if not sooner." John added. "If the Wraith get their hands on Atlantis, then they may be able to get to Earth. That is something that we can't let happen."

Jason didn't know that the Wraith would be there so quickly. The Daedelus would never get there in time without a ZPM to boost the engines.

"You can't expect me to believe all this. It's too fantastic. Even if it were true, why would Jason be the only one that could operate things?" James had started pacing. Now that he knew where the two had been he wasn't sure he was better off. If they were going back, he'd be completely unable to help or do anything at all. Worse, if something happened to them, he would probably never know.

At this both John and Jason started laughing. To hear a wizard say something was too fantastic was just completely ironic.

When Jason noticed that James was looking particularly peeved he tried to stop laughing long enough to answer him. "It's just like the Veil, there's something in my DNA that allows me to use it but we haven't found anyone else that can."

Jason spun to face John. "You want to use the Veil. That's why you were going to tell James. It's the only way for us to get there in time."

"I don't know if that's the best idea. The wizarding world is having enough problems without muggles coming in and destroying the wards around the Ministry again." James said.

When James saw the blank looks on the Sheppards' faces, he explained the theories that the Unspeakables had come up with regarding the Veil and the collapse of the wards.

Crap that's right, thought Jason. The wizarding world was having enough problems but as much as he would like to take that into account, the fate of an entire galaxy was dependent on them getting to Atlantis in time. The wizarding world would just have to suck it up.

"Dad." Jason stopped when John put a hand on his shoulder.

"James, I understand your position. General O'Neill has been kept abreast of the latest developments in the UK. I don't think it matters though. He's already spoken with the Queen and received permission to make use of the Veil, assuming that Jason can make it work again."

James slumped in defeat. If they'd already gotten the Queen involved than there was nothing to stop them and Jason was going to be leaving again.

John recognized the worry that James had to be feeling and tried to reassure the man. "James, this isn't a suicide mission. If it looks like we are going to lose, than I already have orders to bring everyone back before we destroy the city."

"Oh, I guess that's good?" James half-asked, half stated. "It seems like you just got back and now you're rushing off again. What if something happens to you?"

John took the lead again because in this he had more information than his brother. "Unlike before, we have the means to maintain regular contact with Earth. You and Jason will be able to exchange letters and email every week or two. It isn't perfect but…"

James looked up from where he'd slumped against the wall. "Really?"

John smiled and nodded. "I'll even make sure he sends you his report cards."

Jason groaned and collapsed backwards across the bed making John laugh.

"Report cards?"

"Yeah the General was concerned that Jason would be missing out on his education by being stuck in Atlantis so we've come up with a way for Jason to finish High School and then take college classes."

James tried to be happy about that but it was hard to muster any enthusiasm. He was already worried about Jason leaving and being in danger. He was also a little disappointed but he knew he shouldn't be. There had been a part of him that had always hoped that Jason would follow in his footsteps and join the Unspeakables. Now, with everything that had happened it was no surprise that Jason would rather have a career in the muggle world.

"When do you need to leave?"

John shrugged and stood up from the bed again to resume packing. "They are still working out the details but I'd guess it won't be any more than 12 hours."

James didn't know what to say. It was all so sudden. He didn't even have time to get used to the idea before Jason was leaving again.

"Come on dad, you can help me pack." Jason offered. At least they could spend a little more time together before he had to leave. "John is there any limit or what we can bring?"

John turned around from his closet. "No but figure out what you need right now and we'll bring that with us through the Veil, the rest can come with the Daedelus."

They moved across the hall to Jason's room. James watched as Jason packed.

"I'm sorry dad, I…"

"You're going to be careful right?" James asked suddenly cutting Jason off. "I lost you once. I don't want to lose you again."

**October ****26****th, ****Genii Home world, ****Pegasus Galaxy**

Smoke was rising from the ruins of a rustic village. The smell of burnt wood and flesh hung in the air. The Wraith attack had been swift and brutal. The only ones that escaped the culling were those hiding in the underground bunkers.

"Commander Cowen is dead." The guard reported to the larger man sitting behind the desk.

Kolya, once a trusted advisor and supporter of Cowen had seen his position with the Genii crumble after his failed mission to take Atlantis and then the planet side mission to capture Sheppard's team. "How?" He asked in his normal cold and detached tone. It would be impossible to tell from his voice that thousands of his people had just been taken by the Wraith.

"The ceiling of the conference room collapsed, only Ladon Radim survived. Sir, you're the highest ranking member of the government left."

Any bitterness he might have felt at being pushed aside was quickly forgotten. Kolya issued orders to see to the wounded and send teams through the Stargate to trade for supplies. The bunkers had huge reserves but with winter coming it would be better if they were held as a backup.

Once the orders had been issued, Kolya returned to the surface of the planet to personally survey the damage. He felt his stomach clench at the sight of the ruined village and the bodies of those fortunate enough to have been killed before the Wraith could take them.

The Genii weren't ready to face the Wraith and his people had suffered because of it. They should have had years yet before the Wraith awoke again but Sheppard and his people had changed that. Now because of them, the entire galaxy was suffering the consequences.

If only he'd been able to keep Atlantis, the Genii would be able to fight the Wraith on their own terms if they had the weapons and ships that Atlantis offered. Now, more than ever, they needed those resources.

After returning to his office he called the other surviving officers in and began to put together a plan for taking Atlantis. He wouldn't fail this time. Unlike the first attempt they would plan this out thoroughly and bring enough people to hold the city against any defenders. The first task was to gather intelligence, something his people were very good at.


	17. Planet for Sale

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

**A/N: ****It is back to the SG-1/SGA world. Also, as I have done previously I will mention and potentially summarize episodes but unless Harry impacts the plot there won't be much detail. From here on out, there will be elements & spoilers for all seasons of Atlantis and not necessarily in the right order.**

**A/N 2: Just in case there is some confusion after reading certain parts of this chapter, there is no slash, no hints of slash, and no slashy thoughts. I don't mind it, just can't write it.**

**Chapter ****1****7: ****Planet for Sale**

**October ****2****6****th, ****Ministry of Magic, ****London UK**

The dim atmosphere pervading the Death Chamber in the Department of Mysteries was broken by a bright flash of light and loud whining noise. When the light faded, there was a group of twenty men dressed in full military gear which included fully armed P90s and assorted light arms held at the ready.

The group spread out away from the arrival location scanning the room for any threats. Despite the fact that General O'Neill had received permission from the Queen to use the Veil located in the Department of Mysteries they weren't taking any chances. No one trusted the wizards and witches. Word had quickly spread through the ranks of the SGC about what had happened. As a group they tended to be a little touchy when someone attacked one of their own.

Jason and John both arrived with the first group.

John had been against it until Jason and James both pointed out that would be better to identify any potential threats. Of course James only supported Jason after John had flatly refused to allow James to beam down in the first group. It had nothing to do with trust or James abilities, it was simply reflecting the fact that James had never worked with the military in any way. Jason had and was accustomed to following orders.

"Go ahead and beam down the second group. Everything is clear here." John called out over the radio.

Again there was a flash of white light accompanied by a whining noise. When it was done, a larger group of appeared, this one was a mix of civilian and military personnel. James and Thomas were included as were Elizabeth, Rodney and Carson.

Both James and Thomas had been sworn to secrecy using magic to ensure that they never told anyone about the existence of the Prometheus or about the Stargate. Thomas having just seen Armageddon was peppering anyone who would listen with question after question. Admittedly he was disappointed he wouldn't be able to tell anyone about what he'd seen or where he'd been but that paled in comparison to his excitement.

Rodney had moved away from the main group and approached John and Jason. In his hand was an Ancient scanner and he was studying the display intently.

"What's up Rodney?" John asked good naturedly. At the same time he was keeping an eye on the group to make sure no one wandered off. There was also another transport, this time a large amount of equipment and weapons arrived but there were no additional personnel. All told, there were more than 50 people going to Atlantis through the Veil along with the equipment. More civilians were scheduled to arrive with the Daedelus, assuming they were able to find a way to fend off the Wraith attack.

Rodney looked up from the display and moved closer to the two brothers to show them the display. "There is an incredible amount of ambient energy in this room. I can only surmise that the arch taps into it somehow since there doesn't seem to be any visible power source." He refused to call the transport device the Veil. In his mind it seemed superstitious and smacked of voodoo; of course he was dealing with magic so maybe the term was accurate.

Jason looked at the display but he didn't really understand what he was looking at. He may be able to read the Ancient language but that didn't mean that he understood the science or even the readouts for most of their equipment. "It is probably the wards. We are in one of the most magically protected buildings in London if not Britain. My dad said that last time I activated the _archway_…" He used Rodney's name for it intentionally, trying to stay on the man's good side. "The wards collapsed and the alarms started to go off. I don't know what will happen this time but we should be prepared to get through quickly, I don't know how long the connection will remain active."

Rodney actually puffed up a little when Jason called it the archway. Lt. Colonel Sheppard never let him name anything. The only bright side to that was that he didn't let Lt. Ford name anything either.

Jason looked over at the archway. He had conflicting feelings. There was a part of him, a big part, which was excited to get back to Atlantis. Even with the threat of the Wraith over them it was amazing living in an incredibly advanced city that was millions of years old. Not to mention that the city was in an entirely different galaxy, how many kids his age could say they had been in space let alone visited other planets? The other part of him was sad that he was leaving his dad so quickly. It hadn't been all that long since they had really made up and now they would be separated again. Thomas was a lesser concern. Sure it had been interesting to get to know his brother the last couple of days but he didn't have a relationship with him the way he did with James. At least this time they could keep in contact.

John saw Jason shifting his glances between the archway and James. "Go talk to him while you have the chance. It's going to take a little while to get everything in order."

Jason flashed him a grateful smile and moved over to talk to James.

Rodney continued to take readings and John walked over to Elizabeth and Carson. "How much more are we planning on beaming down?" He was eyeing the vast amount of weapons and equipment arrayed around them.

Elizabeth smiled at her military CO. Whether he was doing it consciously or not, the way he was standing was showing off the insignia of his new rank. "There is just one more transport and then we will be ready to go through. If this doesn't work though…"

"It'll work." John said with more confidence than he really felt. He didn't doubt that Jason would be able to activate the arch again; he just wasn't sure how long it would remain active. "We're going to need help getting all of this equipment through as quickly as possible. Neither Rodney nor Jason are sure how long the connection will remain active."

Elizabeth nodded in understanding. Jason would have to go through quickly as well. He, more than anyone else, was critical to the immediate survival of Atlantis. Therefore if the connection was lost, there would be no one on this side to reactivate it.

While Jason was talking to his dad, Thomas had walked closer to the Veil to get a better look. It was covered in the writing that his brother had told him was called Ancient. He didn't understand how anyone could read it; it just looked like a series of lines. It didn't resemble English in anyway. Hesitantly, he reached out to touch the cold stone like material. Thomas held his breath while pressing his hand against the Veil, according to Jason that was all it took the first time for him to at least get a response. Seconds passed and nothing happened. He felt a flash of jealousy. This was just something else that Jason had that he didn't and he couldn't deny that he resented his brother a little because of it. Why was he so special? Weren't they twins? Shouldn't he have had the same gifts but it seemed like his brother got everything and he got nothing.

James and Jason watched from their position. When nothing happened after Thomas touched the Veil, James didn't know if he should be disappointed or not. One thing he knew for certain though was that he was relieved that only Jason would be going through. It may not be fair but he didn't think Thomas was ready to face what was waiting for Jason on the other side.

"Why wouldn't it work for him?" James asked. He wasn't sure who he was expecting to answer though.

Carson heard the question from where he was standing by Elizabeth and John. He followed James' line of sight and saw Jason's brother standing by the archway. Happy to be able to contribute something he approached James and Jason to answer the question. "Just because they are brothers doesn't mean that they carry the same genetic markers. We still haven't determined which marker Jason had that allowed him to use the Control chair."

"But they are twins; shouldn't they have the same genetic markers?" James was by no means an expert on muggle science but he had learned some of it when Jason was sick a few weeks ago. Carson had been eager to give the main all the information he wanted.

"Aye, normally that would be true but don't forget Jason's DNA has been completely rewritten, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that…"

Carson never finished because James argued immediately. "But Jason was able to activate the Veil long before he ever went to Atlantis. So wouldn't that mean that he had the markers before hand?"

Again Carson found himself agreeing with the man. This time though he didn't have an explanation for why Thomas wouldn't be able to activate the Ancient device when Jason could. "Honestly, I'm not sure. In theory, you're right and it should work for Thomas as well as it did for Jason."

Jason had been listening but after a moment he realized that they were ignoring one very important fact. "Dad, Thomas and I haven't been the same since the night Voldemort attacked us. Remember Uncle Jack gave me a transfusion and it changed my DNA? I bet it was some combination of my DNA with Uncle Jack's that resulted in the genetic markers that Carson is talking about."

"The odds of that happening are astronomical if you'll pardon the term. But, that being said I don't have any other explanation for it." Carson finished. "And the evidence speaks for itself apparently."

A few minutes later John approached them. "Jason, we're all set. Let's get this thing started."

Jason gave his dad a hug goodbye and promised to write. After reviewing the notes for the activation sequence, Jason activated the archway.

Just like before the wards began to collapse. The floor and ceiling groaned. Dust began to drift down and alarms started to blare.

"Jason go through, we'll be right behind you." John ordered loudly, his voice carrying over the alarms that were ringing.

Once Jason had stepped through, the floor started to shake more violently. Small chunks of ceiling rained down on the men and women in the room.

"Ok people, we don't have a lot of time. Benson, you and Marcus see about getting this equipment through. Everyone else get through as quickly as possible." John knew he couldn't stay behind to supervise the operation. Jason may be critical to Atlantis but all the command staff were needed if they were going to figure out a way to stop the Wraith.

Before stepping through the archway himself, John said a quick goodbye to James and Thomas. "You guys better get out of here, this place doesn't look too stable."

James didn't say anything but he nodded quickly. He was debating internally whether he should just run through and stay with Jason. Then he looked and saw Thomas standing away from the group waiting for him. Sighing mentally, James knew that he couldn't go with. Jason had John there so at least he wouldn't be alone but that didn't make it any easier for James to turn his back and walk away.

He and Thomas turned and looked back from the main entrance to the room. Already more than half the group were through the arch along with all the equipment. There was no sign of John so James could only assume that he had made it through safely.

"Will Jason be ok dad?"

James wrapped his arm around Thomas' shoulders and gave him a quick hug. "We can only hope."

Just then the floor jolted sharply and large chunk of the ceiling crashed down narrowly missing the few remaining soldiers. "Come on, this place isn't safe."

As the two Potters made their way out of the building the damage only got worse and worse. There were gaping holes in walls and floors. People were wailing in pain and fear. Healers were rushing about port keying those with severe injuries straight to St. Mungo's for treatment. Those not badly injured were given a pain relief potion and told to get out of the building.

Even as they hurried out of the building James couldn't help but ask himself what all these people were doing in the Ministry. The Queen had issued a warning of what was going to happen. Surely it hadn't been ignored, not after the last time the Veil had been activated.

**October ****26****th, ****Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

Jason flew out of the archway almost as quickly as he had the first time. This time though he was prepared and almost caught himself.

"Son of a bitch!" Jason yelled sharply as pain flared in his hand and his eyes began to tear up. He'd caught the first two fingers of his left hand on the edge of the console. Already they were swelling slightly and the pain was enough to take his breath away.

Despite it all, Jason focused and waved his good hand. A blue-green nimbus of light and energy surrounded the console. Hopefully, that would be enough to keep people from doing what he'd done.

Mere minutes after Jason arrived in Atlantis, Elizabeth, Rodney, and Carson came stumbling out of the archway.

All three slammed painfully into the console but because of Jason's magic, there were unhurt.

"Now I know why they stopped using these things." Rodney muttered. The trip was nowhere near as smooth as the Stargate. Overtime the Ancients must have learned to compensate and improve the rematerialization process to make it easier on the travelers.

Elizabeth had just tapped her radio when John came through and rammed into Rodney. "Perhaps we should move out of the way." He muttered after the two disentangled themselves.

Everyone, especially Rodney, was quick to follow her suggestion.

"Control this is Weir. We have arrived via the backup gate."

"Roger Dr. Weir, do you need any assistance?" The voice that came back was one of the main technicians that worked in the control room. Chuck could usually be counted on to keep a cool head in most circumstances. He was an excellent doer even if he would never be a renowned researcher.

"Yes, we're going to need carts and send a few teams to help us move this equipment."

A moment later Chuck replied. "They're on the way."

Carson noticed that Jason was cradling his hand and seemed to be slightly pale. As soon as he was closer he saw the swelling. It was obvious that Jason had broken two of his fingers.

"Good lord son, you're worse than your brother. Even he's never been injured so quickly." Carson knew the injury was painful but at least it was minor in the grand scheme of things. A couple of splints and some painkillers and Jason would be fine.

"Major…um sorry, Colonel, I need to take Jason to the infirmary." Carson told John.

Only then did John notice Jason's injury. "Jesus Jason what the hell happened?"

Jason wanted to make a joke and he tried his best but he just couldn't put his heart into it. "That fucking console has it out for me." The words came out a lot sharper than he intended but what could they expect, his hand was killing him and here they were grilling him about how it happened.

"Colonel why don't we get the hows later, I think Jason needs something to deaden the pain."

Carson didn't even wait for John to answer. He just led Jason out of the room into the nearby transporter. "You know this is how we met the first time you arrived at Atlantis. Of course you were unconscious so you probably don't remember it."

Jason forced a chuckle but really all he could focus on at the moment was how much his hand hurt.

It was a short walk from the transporter to the infirmary. "I know lad, sit on the table and I'll get you something to help with the pain."

Elizabeth and John were directing the new arrivals to grab whatever equipment they could and move out of the way. There was a lot of confusion as people and equipment came tumbling out of the arch. Because the exit was so rough, there was no time to let people orient themselves. John had his men grabbing people and equipment and yanking both off to the side before more people came through the gate.

The arch stayed active for a good five minutes after all of the civilians and soldiers had stepped through. John was just getting ready to assign a security team to guard the arch when it shut off and faded back to the normal grey field. He gave a mental shrug; at least he wouldn't have to waste men on guard duty. It would not have been good if some random witch or wizard had just wandered through the arch while it was active. Given that most of the wizarding world thought the arch was a gateway to the land of the dead it would have been unlikely but the Unspeakables knew the truth and it wouldn't have been completely out of character for one of them to step through.

Looking around John smiled. It was good to be back in Atlantis. Now all they needed to do was come up with a way to stop the current Wraith attack and everything would be golden.

John was surprised when he noticed Rodney crouched on the floor. "Hey Rodney, what are you doing??"

Rodney was rooting through one of the supply cases that were brought with. At first John thought he was looking for some piece of equipment but he snorted and rolled his eyes when the scientists held up a candy bar triumphantly.

"Ahh, sweet victory!"

"Huh, oh what?" Rodney was already moving on to more interesting topics. He found another pack that he was looking for and with a small huff of annoyance; he picked it up and left for his lab. Rodney would have much preferred to have someone carry it for him but everyone else was occupied so he was stuck doing it for himself.

"Carson?" John asked after tapping his ear mike radio.

"Colonel Sheppard I was just about to contact you?" Carson's voice was friendly and calm. It sent a non-verbal message that all was well and John didn't have anything to be worried about.

John made a few hand motions to some of the soldiers standing around directing them to pick up some of the weapons crates and ammo boxes. They followed him as he left the room.

"Is everything ok? I haven't heard anything since Jason left with you."

"He broke two fingers when he caught them on the edge of a console after getting spit of the arch. The breaks were clean and I splinted them so he will be fine in a few weeks. I'm going to send him to his quarters with some pain killers. I want him to take it easy today but I see no problem with him resuming normal activities tomorrow."

By the time Carson was finished answering all of John's questions, John and the soldiers had reached the armory. He pointed out the locations where the equipment should be stored and then thanked Carson. Silently, he promised himself that he would bring Jason a meal a little later.

Before he left the armory, he remembered something else he needed to talk about with Elizabeth. A quick conversation with her told him that Heightmeyer had been cleared to hear about most of Jason's history. He still couldn't talk about Torchwood but given that the shadowy group had never hurt his brother in any way that shouldn't be too much of a problem. So even though he knew Jason would object and whine about it, John went ahead and scheduled an appointment with Heightmeyer. He really wanted Jason to talk through what had happened.

**October ****26****th, ****Wraith Hive Ship, Pegasus Galaxy**

Alarms started scream throughout the interior of the mighty Hive ship as it floated in the middle of deep space, far from any planet or Stargate. Shezz'la preferred to avoid planets or high profile locations unless there was a strategic reason for his presence. It lessened the chance of an attack from another Wraith Lord.

"Report!" Shezz'la called out sharply from his position by the large map he was studying.

He was concerned about the armada that was making its way towards Atlantis. Based on the information he had learned from the prisoners, the inhabitants of the city were descendents of the original Lantians. It should've been a simple matter to capture or destroy them but so far they had managed to fend off attacks with a combination of Lantean and their own primitive weapons.

This time would be different though, the force was larger than anything this group had faced before. They would quickly find themselves under siege unless they managed to find more capable warships. True, they would distract two of his rival Wraith Lords but ultimately the damage done to their fleets would most likely be minimal. He needed to ensure that the Lantians survived to complete the weapon.

"Our long range sensors have detected multiple hyperspace incursions on the edge of your territory."

The incursions weren't unusual. Word had quickly spread through the ranks of the Wraith that the worlds in his territory were well stocked with the human cattle. There had already been a handful of attempts to cull one of his worlds but the combination of planetary defenses and his growing fleet made sure that those foolish enough to try were quickly destroyed or forced to retreat. The only true threat would be an alliance of other Lords to form a force large enough to overwhelm him.

"How large and what is their target?"

There was a pause while the Wraith continued to study the data that was streaming in from the sensors. "There were 6 separate incursions. The ships appear to have reentered hyperspace almost immediately afterwards. The sensors were unable to identify the ship configuration but the hyperspace signature does not match anything we have encountered before."

"It wasn't Wraith?"

"No and it wasn't the Lantians either. Our cruiser was able to transmit their sensor readings before being destroyed at the last attack against the Lanteans."

Shezz'la was not fond of mysteries. If the hyperspace signature did not correspond to the Wraith or Lantean vessels than there was a new threat in the galaxy. None of the humans in the galaxy had reached the level of technology necessary to build ships capable of flying in space let alone entering hyperspace.

"Send word to our operatives, I want to know if the other Wraith have encountered these ships."

The presence of a new player could disrupt his plans. He needed to move more quickly and would have to take a more aggressive stance. Shezz'la spent more time studying the map in front of him considering his plans and the repercussions. Ultimately, it would be worth the cost and would send a message to the other Wraith Lords. There was a risk that he could force the other Wraith Lords to combine against him. However that risk was just part of the undertaking; the rewards outweighed any potential downside.

When he was satisfied with his plans, Shezz'la returned to his chambers. It had been many days since he had fed but the dull ache of hunger was just beginning. Unlike so many of his brethren, he relished the battle against his baser instincts and fought to control the urge to feed at the first opportunity. Just as he would never bow before another Wraith, Shezz'la refused to give in to his own desires. He was in control not them.

After arriving in his chambers, he sent for Mors'la, there were tasks that he needed done. As always, the commander responded quickly to the summons. The first plan was simple, human followers of the Wraith would be seeded onto his worlds. The humans could easily pass as refugees from planets that had been culled. It should be a simple matter for them to blend in and keep an eye out for any evidence of the Lantians or this mysterious new group. If the humans succeeded than it could be valuable information and there was no cost to him if they failed.

The second plan was riskier. He was sending Mors'la with a detachment of cruisers to a pair of planets in another Lord's territory. The plan was to cull the planets while the bulk of the Lord's forces were away laying siege to Atlantis. It would allow his worlds to remain untouched while at the same time providing an ample food supply for some time to come.

The rewards were worth the risk of inciting a full-scale attack against his own territory by the other Wraith Lords. The promise of a rich source of food would bring more to his side and strengthen his already growing forces. With enough Wraith behind him, he wouldn't even need the Lantians weapon, the remaining Wraith Lords would fall before his might. History had already proven that the Lantians were no match for the overwhelming numbers of the Wraith. Their weapon if they managed to keep it from him would only prolong their demise; it would never prevent it.

**October ****28****th, ****Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

John and Elizabeth were sitting in the conference room for the 2nd straight day. They, along with Rodney, Radek Zelenka, and a handful of new arrivals were once again going over the incoming Wraith fleet and what their options were.

Major Lorne, one of the new arrivals and John's second in command, asked something that had been on his mind for a while. "Does the city still fly? Can't we just go to a different planet?"

The discussion and private conversations stilled at his questions.

Radek and Rodney started to bounce the idea off each other.

"We have two ZPMs." Radek began.

"And the power utilization curve is a lot lower than with one."

"We know that all the primary systems are still intact."

"But is there a list of habitable planets?"

"It can't have a Stargate; it should be off the grid."

"Guys, can we do it?" John butted in. Left alone, the two scientists could go on like that for hours. He had to admit, it was a good idea. If they could move the city to another planet, ideally one that didn't have a Stargate already then the Wraith would have difficulty tracking them.

"And if we can do it, is there enough time before the Wraith get here?" Added Elizabeth. It would be the best approach. They would need to relocate the Athosians again since without Atlantis there would be no Stargate for them to use.

Teyla didn't want to move her people again but the price was small when she considered that there would be no loss of life or danger from the Wraith. Perhaps, her people would be safe from the Wraith on an entirely new planet, one that had never before been visited. "If we can, than my people must have time to gather supplies and prepare for the journey."

Everyone turned to Rodney and Radek who hadn't replied to either John's or Elizabeth's questions. Just when people were beginning to get impatient, Rodney answered.

"Yes I think we can. I want to check out the star drive to make sure it is in working order but there is nothing else that would prevent us from taking off."

"Colonel Sheppard it would be helpful if we can work with Jason to run some simulations with the Control chair. He will be the one to actually fly the city. All the systems are run through the Control chair." Radek added. He'd developed a good working relationship with the teenager after helping him run through different scenarios during the lead-up to the first Wraith attack.

John nodded; there was really no choice but that didn't mean that he wasn't going to add some conditions though. He didn't want a repeat of last time where Jason had worked himself almost to the point of exhaustion. "Yeah, that's ok."

John held up his finger to stop Radek from saying anything. "But, I don't want him running simulations for hours at a time. He's still recovering and I don't want him to relapse." Most people didn't know about the attack on Earth so if they thought Jason was still getting over his injuries from the Wraith attack, it was all the same.

Elizabeth brought the location question again. No one knew the answer so Elizabeth and two others would begin searching the Ancient database for a suitable planet that didn't have any Stargate.

The group as a whole decided that a planet further away would be better. More power would be used to reach their location but there was less chance of the approaching Wraith fleet detecting them.

Before everyone could leave the room and go about their tasks Elizabeth added something new to the mix. She was concerned that they were putting all their eggs in one basket. Yes, moving to another planet would resolve the current situation but it didn't solve the underlying problem. "We need to complete the weapon that the Ancients were researching. We can't keep running from planet to planet, assuming this idea even works. We need a long term solution. Focus on the task at hand but I want options the next time we meet."

------

Jason had wandered around Atlantis taking in the sights again while everyone was meeting to try and come up with a plan to fend off the Wraith. As much as he wanted to be there, he was forced to admit that he didn't have the knowledge or the skill to really provide any useful advice. Sure his magic was powerful but he doubted he could replicate the black hole again since he didn't know how he did it in the first place and the Daedelus wouldn't arrive in time anyway so they were short a space ship to use in the second place.

He'd ended up sleeping much of the first day back thanks to the painkillers that Carson had given him for his fingers. John had brought him dinner and his bags later in the day. It was nice. They talked about football and baseball and everything that wasn't related to magic, the Wraith, or school. It filled him with a warm feeling because it reminded him of when they were younger and used to talk like that all the time. Now, things were always so serious and the threats they faced so dire that it seemed like no one took the time to have fun.

After John left, Jason took a mental note to see if something could be organized to help people blow off some steam. Baseball would be nice but it wasn't really practical perhaps a movie night or games of some sort. Maybe Aiden would have some ideas; Jason believed that the young marine had to be bored at times.

The next day, Jason wandered back to his room after eating a large breakfast. Carson wouldn't need him in the infirmary and he didn't have to start school yet so he might as well unpack. He smiled slightly as he put away his clothes. It was nice to have something other than a single pair of jeans and BDUs. He didn't understand how John and the others could stand wearing them all the time.

It wasn't the clothes or photos that really grabbed his attention. Someone had slipped a book into one of his bags. It was a small brown leather journal. He'd never seen it before and it wasn't one of the books that he had been using when he was working with Daniel.

Jason sat down on the edge of his bed and opened the book. It was filled with Daniel's hand writing. At the same time a small sheet of paper slid out of the book. Curious, Jason reached down and picked it up.

_Jason,_

_I know a little something about being the odd man and feeling __alone when in a crowd. As most anyone in the SGC can tell you, I died (I know…it's a habit) and with the help on an Ancient named Oma Desala, I ascended. _

_What I have never told anyone before is that I can remember my time as an ascended being. I don't have the knowledge of the universe but __I __remember the feeling of being one with everything.__ I don't think anyone can possibly understand what it is like to go from that sense of connection to the universe itself to a normal existence as a human._

_I know that I made the right decision in violating the laws of the other Ascended and am willing to pay the consequences. That does not change the basic fact that there are times when it feels like I'm alone and the loneliness and loss of what I was can be crushing. _

_You may be wondering why I'm telling you all this. I know how you've been changed. If you are anything like me, you are feeling disconnected, wondering if your family is still just that, your family. __The simple answer is family is what you chose to make of it. It does not have to be by blood. It is a simple choice to love and support someone else. You still have your family and they will be there for you.__ Just don't shut them out._

_I have to apologize for the journal. It was me pouring my thoughts and feelings onto paper so it might be a little disorganized. __But I found it to be a good friend when I was feeling particularly lonely._

_If you ever need __a friend to __talk __to __or just __to __have someone that will listen, __let me know__. After all, we advanced beings and former Ascended need to stick together right?_

_Daniel_

Jason didn't know what to think. He'd never had someone give him something so utterly personal. He'd wondered why he'd felt like Daniel understood him. Even John didn't really understand some of what he was going through. It made him feel better just to know that someone understood how he felt.

Maybe that way why he'd enjoyed working with Daniel. It was like being with Uncle Jack, there was an unspoken acceptance of him as he was. It probably came from all three of them standing out from everyone else in some fashion. It was funny, until Daniel had pointed it out in his letter, he never really thought of Jack being in the same position.

After that, Jason spent some time paging through the journal and promising himself that he would read it completely. That night, when he went to bed he felt better for knowing that even if there weren't any Ancients left that he wasn't alone and never would be.

The next day, the 28th, Jason had nothing to distract him. John was meeting with Elizabeth and the others to try and figure out a defense. He couldn't work out because of his fingers. Jason toyed briefly with the idea looking for Aiden but didn't really feel up to being sociable. In the end he decided to go back to translating more of the journals from Malus' work on the weapon prototype.

**October ****31****st, ****Genii Home World****, Pegasus Galaxy**

Kolya strode into the infirmary room. The nurse that was tending to Ladon Radim scurried out when she realized who it was.

Ladon himself looked up and his already pallid appearance paled even further. Things had been tense between himself and his former commander since the failed attempt at taking Atlantis, an attempt that had cost the commander his son.

Kolya didn't say anything. He simply waved his hand sending the guards out of the room. There was nothing to fear from the man stuck in the hospital bed. Should Ladon be foolish enough to try something well that was what his sidearm was for. No, he thought as he continued to study Ladon this man was no real threat to him. The real question was whether he could be an asset or not.

"Ladon you don't look well. Perhaps I should send my own doctor to take over your treatment." Kolya said after Ladon had started to break out in a light sweat.

It was an effort for Ladon to bring himself under control. How much did the commander know? If he knew everything he would surely be dead but why was he here?

"No…no I'm just feeling a little weak at the moment. I'm sure it will pass."

Kolya moved closer to the bed until he was standing directly in front of the foot of it. He could approach this one of two ways. He could either withhold the information he learned about Ladon's planned coup. It would provide him leverage that could be used later on. At the same time, if he did so Ladon might be foolish enough to continue forward with his plans. Though he didn't trust the man, his knowledge and scientific background made him nearly irreplaceable. Thus he was reluctantly going with the second option. If Ladon decided not to cooperate he would have the man killed or just do it himself. It would set back his plans but steps could be taken.

"Ladon, I was quite disappointed to learn about your recent activities." The tone of his voice said that Kolya was anything but disappointed.

Ladon's mind raced trying to come up with an answer. In desperation, he tried to play for a little more time. "My activities commander? I'm not sure what you're referring to."

Now Kolya did indeed look disappointed. "I thought I trained you better than this Ladon. First you do a very poor job of covering your tracks and now you can't even come up with a decent lie." There was no mistaking the menace in his voice or the not so subtle shifting of his hand to his gun. "I suggest if you want to continue breathing that you try to do better."

There was really no choice but to confess to it. If Kolya was going to kill him, he would have done it already. No, like Cowen he needed him for something. Even as he visibly sank into his bed in defeat there was a small voice in the back of his head that was crowing in victory. His knowledge and expertise were vital enough to spare him even this transgression.

This time when he began there was no stutter in his voice, no dissembling. Ladon spoke clearly and dispassionately as he would about any of his scientific undertakings. "Very well since you clearly already know than yes I was working to coordinate a coup to overthrow Commander Cowan. We had only begun to formulate the plan but the man's policies and proposed plans had turned many even in his inner council against him. They feared the retaliation of other worlds or even the Lantians."

"And you felt that you would be a better leader for our people?" Kolya asked disdainfully. He was leaning forward now his hands gripping the railing at the end of the bed. It was the height of arrogance for Ladon to think that he would be a better leader than Cowan. Also Kolya was a somewhat impressed at the audacity of the effort. He'd given some thought to attempting something similar but he'd never moved forward on it.

In for a penny, in for a pound though Ladon. "Yes, it was clear to me and the others that Cowen no longer had the best interests of the Genii in mind. He was out to build an empire."

"Let us be honest with each other Ladon. What is to prevent you from attempting something similar with me?"

Ladon was a bit surprised by the commander's candor. Any lie or dissembling would probably get him killed so he continued on with the truth. It had kept him alive so far. "Nothing but I assume you will have me watched for any signs of such activity."

Kolya nodded and stood straight again and moved away from the bed to stand by the window. Unlike on most worlds, the window in this room looked out onto the underground landscape that filled the bunker.

"You are alive and will remain so as long as you are useful. Never doubt that I will remove you permanently if that usefulness changes or you become a threat."

"I understand completely Commander." Ladon sat up straighter in his bed even though the position was uncomfortable for him given his injuries. This would most likely be a long conversation and he needed to project as much strength as possible.

Kolya began to review his plans for the Wraith with Ladon. Together they discussed the weapons that the Genii currently had available to them in addition to the different delivery methods. The atomic weapons would be effective against anyone but the difficulty was in getting them to their intended target. The Wraith were no longer on the ground so given the Genii's current capabilities the Hive ships would be immune to any of the Genii attacks.

"What about the Lantians? Commander Cowen was considering an alliance with them. It would give us access to Lantean ships and technology." Suggested Ladon. He'd slumped down in his bed again in order to relieve some of the pain. The conversation had gone on far longer than he had expected it to.

"I don't trust them. They have taken what is ours once already. There are plans in motion to gain access to their technology but I will need you to come up with a way for our soldiers to fly their ships."

That would be difficult thought Ladon. The Lantean technology required a specific gene if their intelligence was accurate. It may be possible to replicate but he would have to talk to some of the scientists in the biology section. His knowledge and experience in that area was cursory at best.

"We may need some specimens if we are to develop and test any method."

"That will not be a problem. With the Wraith culling the galaxy there are many people in need. The offer of some assistance in return for the capture of strangers should be an ample reward."

Clearly the commander had been thinking and planning for this already. He seemed to know everything that could be a potential stumbling block but that didn't stop Ladon's curiosity about one thing. "If the Lantians were telling the truth, Sheppard would be the most logical resource to detain."

Kolya was growing tired of the conversation. Ladon clearly understood his role. What's more, he understood the consequences should he fail. Then the man had to bring up Sheppard. Twice he had failed because of that man and more importantly, Sheppard was directly responsible for the death of his son.

"I'm afraid Major Sheppard is not an option. He is too resourceful. If he is captured, he will be executed for his crimes against the Genii."

Ladon's mouth opened for just a second as if he was going to argue the point but then he thought better of it. His position was tenuous at best; there was no need to risk a confrontation with Kolya unless absolutely necessary.

"I understand."

"Good then I will leave you to your rest. You have a lot of work ahead of you." Left unsaid was the fact that the future of the Genii could rest on the shoulders of the scientist. Another Wraith culling could wipe them out or see them reduced to no better than the other primitive cultures scattered about the galaxy. He and Ladon were not just fighting the Wraith; they were fighting to preserve their people and their place in the galaxy.

**October ****31****st, ****Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

John and Teyla carried their trays over to a table in the corner of the cafeteria. It was the first time that they two had gotten a chance to sit down and talk since John had gotten back to Atlantis. If John wasn't getting the new members of the expedition settled into the city than Teyla was on the mainland helping to relocate her people back to the city.

"How was your time on Earth?" Teyla asked after they had both settled into their seats. Other than the new people and equipment, she had heard little about their trip. "Is Jason well now?"

John briefly debated what he should tell Teyla. Then he realized that Teyla could help make sure that Jason didn't feel isolated again. She already knew all of the relevant facts; it was just a matter of filling her in on the latest development. John had to repress a snort at his own thought, 'development' now that was an interesting euphemism for what had happened.

So John gave an abbreviated description of what happened to Teyla.

For her part, Teyla couldn't understand the motivation behind such actions. It was probably her experience with the Wraith but she found it hard to believe that a people would fight with itself. Even the Genii acted with a single voice.

"And Jason, how is he dealing with this attack by those he should be able to trust?"

"It's been hard on him. I think he was happy to get back to Atlantis so that he wouldn't have to deal with it anymore." John said softly. He put his fork down and looked at Teyla a little nervously.

Teyla noted the change in John and questioned him on it. "Is something wrong?"

"No, it's just being back on Earth and everything that has happened with the Wraith has made me realize a few things." God, his hands were almost shaking. He hadn't felt this nervous since he was a teenager.

"Whatever it is Colonel you can trust me." Teyla began but she was quickly cut off by John.

"No no, it isn't like that. Ok, I may be totally off base and if I hope to god I'm not. Well…you see…I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me."

John watched as Teyla's expression became clouded, not with anger or dismay but simple confusion.

"I don't understand. We frequently have dinner together."

John groaned to himself. It shouldn't be this difficult. Didn't the universe owe him? The least it could is make this a little easier. "Yes I know that but I was thinking of something that was just the two of us. You know something a little more…romantic."

God at least it was out there. Now he was just praying that Teyla didn't outright laugh in his face. The two of them had a lot in common. Both were leaders, both were used to fighting to protect their people. In Teyla he had someone that he could confide in and trust. Elizabeth was a good friend but she would never totally understand the military mindset. Teyla on the other hand had fought all her life against the Wraith and understand that sometimes hard decisions had to be made, decisions that you wouldn't make in a normal polite society.

Teyla's confusion faded but her expression remained decidedly neutral. "Is it not frowned upon to date? Is that the word?"

John nodded in confirmation.

"Is it not frowned up to date someone in your own team?"

"Well normally it is but that has more to do with military rank than anything else."

"And your people would not mind you dating someone who is not from your own world?" Some of the worlds Teyla had visited strictly prohibited such relationships. Her own people being smaller in number were more open to the mixing of peoples and cultures. Since John and the other members of his expedition had arrived, they had been very good to her people, protecting them from the Wraith and giving them shelter when they needed it most.

She wasn't trying to be cruel to John by not answering his question directly but she wanted to avoid causing problems for him. He had become very important to her and she didn't want to see him hurt.

John shrugged, he hadn't thought about that. In truth it would probably raise some eyebrows; however, he also knew that some of his men as well as a few of the scientists had grown rather close with some of the Athosians. "I don't think anyone will object if that's what you mean. It doesn't really matter to me if they do."

John started to feel a little sad that Teyla hadn't said yes until he realized that in all her questions, she never said no either.

Teyla smiled, finally breaking her neutral expression since John had explained what he was asking. "If you are sure, than yes I would like to have dinner with you."

John's face split into a crooked smile. "Excellent, this is going to be great." He began making plans in his head for what he would do. He'd need to get food and maybe Jason could use his magic to make someplace a little more romantic.

"Perhaps we should wait though until we have relocated."

John nodded, that would give him time to make sure everything was perfect. "I have some news too. I don't want you to take this the wrong way but part of the reason why it won't matter if we date is because I'm going to reassign you to a new team."

"What? Why?"

John had to force himself to keep going. The hurt in Teyla's voice was hard to take. "Just let me explain. I think you will understand why in a minute. With all the new soldiers that have joined the expedition, we are forming a lot of new gate teams. I'd like to give Lieutenant Ford the chance to lead his own team. He isn't the most senior officer, but he has more experience than almost everyone here. I'd like you to be on his team. I think it will make the transition easier for him knowing that he has someone he can trust completely while he gets used to leading."

"Oh." Teyla thought about John's reasoning. She had to admit that it made sense. Aiden would make a fine leader and the transition could be easier when there was someone who could act as a mentor of sorts. She'd learned enough about the Earth military structure to know that it would be impossible for Aiden to assume such a role with someone more senior so she was a logical choice. "It is a good idea. I had thought for a moment that…"

John wouldn't let her finish leaned forward over the table to emphasize his point. For a second he debated, and then he reached out and put his hand on top of hers. "No, never it's because you've been such a valuable member and a help to me that I know you will be able to do the same for Lt. Ford too. As much as I would love to keep you on my team, you can give Ford the support he needs without undercutting his authority with the rest of the military."

Teyla's smile was more relieved now and she didn't pull her hand away from Johns. "In that case, I would be happy to join Aiden's team but I expect you look after yourself without me there to protect you."

John's body shook as he laughed softly and almost reluctantly he pulled his hand back so they could resume eating.

After a few minutes of silence, Teyla asked another question. "John" She used his first name so infrequently that it felt a little strange to do so now but his rank didn't seem appropriate either. "Will Jason be ok with you and I dating? I would not want to come between you two."

John started to choke on his drink. When he finally stopped coughing, John looked at Teyla incredulously. "Jason? My brother Jason?" He asked just to clarify. "I don't think he'd mind."

"Are you sure? You are very important to him."

John couldn't help it. He blushed a deep red. "Well I'm pretty sure. When we were on Earth he asked me when I was gonna pull my head out of my ass and ask you out."

It took Teyla a moment for what John said to sink in. When it did, she did a good imitation of John and proceeded to blush deeply. "Well depending on how our dinner goes I will either have to thank him or punish him."

John wasn't quite sure what to say to that so he settled on digging into his chocolate cake for dessert.

-----

At the same time that John and Teyla were having dinner, Jason was sitting in the Control Chair and working with Radek to run a series of diagnostics on the city's star drive. Aiden was also in the room, leaning against the wall and occasionally joking with Jason while Radek studied the results of the diagnostics.

Radek was still going over the latest results when Aiden decided it was time to drop his gossip bomb. Since coming to Atlantis he'd learned to appreciate the fine art of gossip, especially since there wasn't a lot to do at times. It was amazing to him that for such an educated group or people the grapevine was highly sophisticated. If asked ahead of time he would have said that gossip wouldn't be an issue. Apparently, that was 100 wrong; it seemed that scientists love to gossip as much as high school girls.

"So Jason are you dating anyone back on Earth?" Aiden began innocently enough. It would be more fun to draw it out a little. He had to fight not to laugh when he noticed Radek perk up a little at the question. Of course, Aiden had heard rumors about Radek and a certain blond psychologist but since she had some say in his being allowed to stay on active duty, Aiden never repeated those particular rumors.

Jason just rolled his eyes. "It'd be a little hard considering I'm in a different galaxy, but to answer your question 'no' I broke up with my last pseudo-girlfriend before coming here the first time."

It was nice having Aiden here for these diagnostics. Otherwise, the boredom could be pretty mind numbing as he waited for Radek to finish whatever it was he did with the results.

"Oh that's good because I heard that one of our new arrivals has a bit of a crush on you."

Radek gave up any pretense of going over the diagnostic results now. This was far more interesting.

"What? How? Who?" Jason stammered. His eyes were wide and his mouth was hanging open in shock. He was a pretty good looking guy, at least the girls in his high school thought so but everyone here was older.

"Very nice." Aiden replied.

"Oh come on Aiden, you can't leave me hanging." Jason whined. He was still sitting in the chair but was completely distracted now.

"Catherine Maxwell, one of the new doctors that came back with you."

Jason tried to remember if he knew a Catherine Maxwell. He vaguely remembered a blond doctor with shoulder length hair pulled back into a pony tail and a very tight little ass. Ok he admitted to himself he more than vaguely remembered her. She was only 22, a genius that cruised through college and med-school in just 4 years.

"She's hot!" Jason blurted without thinking.

"Apparently she's pretty impressed with you too. You didn't tell me that you let her see you naked."

"What?! No I didn't."

"Yep, when you were back at the SGC. She helped Carson change your scrubs. I heard she even gave you a sponge bath."

The entire city lurched and began to rumble.

Radek's eyes immediately dropped to his pad. "Jason concentrate, you're initiating the star drive! You have to stop!"

Jason snapped his concentration back to the city trying to push thoughts of Catherine Maxwell and how much him she may or may not have seen of him to the back of his mind. His face was still flaming a deep, deep red though. Quickly the city stopped rumbling and the star drive returned to its previous state.

Aiden grinned unrepentantly. "Well I guess we know you're interested."

Radek added dryly. "And we know for certain that the star drive is still operational."

"Just kill me know." Jason muttered. "John will never let me live this down."


	18. Moving In

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

**A/N: ****For any that are worried about the inclusion of Mary Sues & romance, don't be. The romance subplot is there just to lighten things up and add a little humor. It will be very minor, no longing glances or heartfelt sighs, I promise.**

**A/N 2: Minor spoilers for 04x05 – Travelers and 04x06 – Tabula Rasa**

**Chapter ****1****8****Moving In**

**November 3, Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

It had been three days since Jason's unorthodox testing of the city's star drive. In that time, the city had been bustling with activity. Teyla was bouncing back and forth to the mainland ensuring that all of her people were accounted for and given quarters in the city for their journey. There was an almost constant stream of jumpers flying to and from the city bringing not just the Athosians, but their belongings and supplies as well. It would make starting over on the new planet much simpler and quicker.

Elsewhere, the scientists being led by Rodney and Radek were securing and shutting down all non-essential systems. With two ZPMs, there was ample power to see the city safely to its new home; however, the two men were concerned that power surges from running the shields and engines could damage some of the systems.

Elizabeth and her team had been pouring over the Ancient database searching for a planet that would be suitable. During the course of their search they had identified four possible planets. Each was habitable and supported a similar habitat to the ecosystem of their current home. With no way of scouting out the planets in advance, they had settled on planet furthest away from any of the known Wraith planets. It had two large continents one of which was home to a large venomous snake like creature according to the database.

The real find had been a series of planets flagged in the database as scientific or military outposts. Already plans were being put together for when they arrived at the new planet. John was going to make full use of the additional resources he now had available to him. There would be missions to continue searching for allies and any resources the Athosians might need to rebuild their settlement. The other teams would be focusing on finding anything of value at the scientific and military outposts that the Ancients left behind. Left unsaid was the hope that they all were not as well protected as the labs they'd found so far that could only be accessed by Jason.

Jason didn't have much to do so he ended up helping out in the infirmary. He wasn't sure how to act around Catherine ever since Aiden had told him about her crush. Should he act normally and just ignore it or should he see if something could happen? What he really wanted to do was avoid the situation until he knew whether Aiden was serious or not but he was getting enough shit from John already for the abrupt testing of the city's star drive. There was no way he was going to add more fuel to fire by looking like he was afraid of her.

Every time he was in the infirmary it felt like everyone was laughing at him behind his back. It was probably just him imagination but Jason didn't like feeling like he was totally out of control. There had been a few innocent comments from Catherine along with a casual invitation to lunch which he accepted but there had been nothing overt coming from any of the other infirmary staff.

What Jason didn't know was that a couple of the younger nurses had their own crushes on the 18 year old. So there was a certain amount of jealousy when Jason accepted Catherine's invitation to lunch. Carson of course knew everything that went on within the walls of the infirmary and had to laugh at the little soap opera that was playing out. A discreet discussion with a certain newly promoted Lieutenant Colonel might be in order. It was just wrong to waste material this good. It was his duty as a big brother to see that John had all the information necessary to thoroughly embarrass Jason when appropriate.

With all the activity going on, the time passed quickly for Jason if not painlessly. It was now the day of departure. Today was the day that Atlantis was leaving for a new home. Of course, there wasn't anyone left on the planet to mark their departure but no one was really happy with the situation. It was hard not to feel as if they were being forced to flee, to retreat to some hidden location to marshal their forces and develop a means to beat the Wraith. Regardless of the reasons or the rationalization, Atlantis and its inhabitants were wronging, but everyone promised that they would be back.

Jason was sitting safely ensconced in the Control Chair. The platform was glowing a soft blue as it always did whenever it was activated and Jason was running through a final series of checks and diagnostics to make sure that the city was ready for the journey. One of the final steps was to initiate the engine sequence to allow for a gradual buildup of power which would lower the chances for a system overload as power was shunted from the ZPMs to the star drive.

The city rocked slightly as the star drive began to power up.

John was leaning with his back against a wall watched Jason go through the steps to get everything ready. When the city shook under his feet john grinned and debated for about a second about whether to say something or not, ultimately, he decided it would go against every fiber of his being not to say something. After all, if anyone was going to make fun of Jason, it should be him. It was a perk of being a big brother.

"Be careful there Jason, you don't want to get a reputation for launching too early." John admonished Jason in a mock-serious tone.

Jason just rolled his eyes and went back to what he was doing. It wouldn't matter if he said anything or not. John had been coming up with one lame joke after another since Aiden had spread that particular story around.

"Hey isn't there some rule about reusing the same joke ad nauseum?"

John's posture never changed. "Hmmm…let me give that some thought. No…no I don't think there is a rule like that. Because if there was, I could never tell you to be careful that your rocket doesn't fire prematurely."

Jason just groaned and rubbed a hand over his face. "John, that was just bad! At least come up with something funny if you are going to keep beating a dead horse."

John opened his mouth to respond but before he could the radio in his ear clicked with static and then Elizabeth's voice came through. "Colonel Sheppard, everything is a go up here. Where do we stand with Jason?"

Even though he couldn't hear what was being said, Jason knew John was getting questioned by someone by the way that he stood up straighter and lost some of the relaxed jovial expression from his face.

John mouthed 'Are we ready?' to Jason.

Jason nodded.

"Dr. Weir, Atlantis is a go for lift off. All systems check out and are green." John knew he should probably be up in the Control Room with Elizabeth and Rodney but he wanted to be here with Jason. True there wasn't anything he could do to help but taking the city into space again, the first time in millions of years had to be taxing. His brother had been through too much recently and John was not about to take any chances.

Rather than respond directly to John, Elizabeth responded on the city-wide PA system. "This is Dr. Weir, we are ready to launch. All personnel should remain in their quarters until we have sounded the all-clear. We don't know how bumpy this ride is going to be."

"Ok Colonel, tell Jason he has a go for lift-off." Elizabeth's voice once again came through John's radio. He could hear some of the nervousness in her tone but her voice was as steady as ever.

"Roger that. Prepare for lift-off."

John didn't bother relaying the order. Jason was listening to everything John said so it would just be redundant. Instead he took the opportunity to watch Jason for any signs of difficulty.

It wasn't entirely reassuring having his older brother watch him so closely but if playing baseball did one thing for him, it was to teach him how to perform in front of an audience. This was way more complicated but he had run through simulations enough to feel moderately comfortable with the procedure.

His eyes closed as he concentrated once more on the city and immersed himself into the star drive and support systems. It felt like they were an extension of himself and would respond accordingly. Despite what people may think, it wasn't a series of commands that he ran through it was more like a visualization exercise. He pictured what he wanted the systems to do and they made it happen. Information was fed back to him at a phenomenal rate so that if something was going wrong he could correct it instantly.

Once more linked to the city, Jason's eyes snapped open. It was the first time John had seen him do something like this with the chair and though he had heard about the effect it had on Jason, John still found it disconcerting to see his brother's eyes glowing with the same pale blue light that surrounded the Chair platform.

The city began to rumble and shake. Loose pads and items rattled around and fell to the floor. John reached out and braced himself against the wall as the shaking grew worse. Just as John was about to ask if something was wrong, the city lurched and began to rise into the air. The ascent was slow as the massive city left the waters of the planet. Out of the water, the city's rumbling lessened and if it wasn't for the slight pressure pressing down on them, there would be no indication that the city was moving.

The star drive was emitting a blue-white light as the city continued to rise leaving the atmosphere and moving away from the planet. Several minutes passed before the city reached a safe distance from the planet.

After the city had reached a safe distance from the planet, the massive engines flared brightly with power. A rippling tear in space formed surrounded by coruscating energy and the city surged into the tear which closed immediately afterwards.

The Control Chair tilted back upwards and shut down. "Well, that's it." Jason remarked.

Together, Jason and John left the control room. There wasn't anything left to be done for either of them until it was time to drop out of hyperspace. The location was about 36 hours away via hyperspace.

**November 4, Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

"Holy shit!"

"What? What is it?" John again was the one that was staying with Jason. He was determined this time to not take his brother for granted. In his effort to be there for Jason he had been more than a little stifling.

Jason's frustration level had been growing throughout the day. As much as he liked spending time with John, he needed some space too. The only time he'd been able to get away was when he needed to use the bathroom. In desperation, Jason decided it would be a good idea to go to the Chair room and run a few diagnostics to make sure everything was ready for planet fall.

Unfortunately, the diagnostics finished quickly. There were still a few hours before it would be time to drop the city out of hyperspace. To kill a little more time and avoid talking to John, Jason began to explore the different functions of the control chair. The chair was connected to everything within Atlantis. Through it he had access to all the sensors, labs, weapons, engines, everything.

In the depths of the city, in sections still unexplored he found something completely unexpected. In fact, he found two things that were completely unexpected.

"Give me a minute." Jason responded without even opening his eyes.

Being very careful not to disrupt the power flow to the engines, he diverted a small amount of power to the two facilities. In his mind's eye, he studied the data being sent to him via the chair. The results were a little disappointing but the facilities themselves seemed to be in perfect working order.

"Colonel, we're registering a power surge in two unexplored sections of the city."

"Give me a minute Dr. Weir." It always felt a little strange to call Elizabeth by her title but appearances had to be maintained even if they were friends.

"Jason do you know anything about power surges?"

"You won't believe this John. Can you get Dr. Weir and McKay down here? They're going to want to hear this too." Like John, Jason tried to use Elizabeth's title pretty much all of the time. She deserved his respect and he felt weird whenever he called her by her first name. Rodney, that was a different story, he'd made an effort to get along with the annoying man but he wasn't going to give the man any more respect than he had to.

John looked at Jason for a second before he relayed the request back to Elizabeth. There was a brief conversation where John assured Elizabeth that it was important. While the city was in flight she wasn't comfortable leaving the control room unless it was necessary.

In the time it took for Elizabeth and Rodney to reach the Control Chair, Jason cycled through a series of diagnostics on the newly powered facilities. The information he learned this time told him exactly what was needed. His initial disappointment changed. He'd thought that there was damage but it was simply a lack of necessary materials. If they could get their hands on those resources than a major obstacle would be removed.

Jason was so lost in the readings that he didn't even notice when Elizabeth and Rodney got to the room. He also didn't notice the jealous glance that Rodney shot towards Jason. The glance was one he used to send John's way occasionally too until he got the gene therapy from Carson. It was simply the fact that Jason could do something he couldn't.

"Well, what was so important that we had to come down here?" Rodney asked.

Jason's eyes returned to normal when he heard Rodney's grating voice. Before speaking he took a deep breath to calm his temper. "Dr. Weir, John I have made a discovery that I thought you should know about right away."

"Does this have anything to do with the power surges to those unexplored sectors of the city? Why are you diverting power while we're in hyperspace anyway? Do you know what could have happened?" Rodney could never wait for his questions to be answered; he always threw them out there like machine gun spat bullets.

"Yes McKay, I knew what I was doing!" Jason said more sharply than he intended. Before John or Elizabeth could say anything about him being impolite or rude he went on. "I asked for you to come down because I thought you would want to know that there are two manufacturing facilities in the city. One is set to manufacture ZPMs and the other is set to manufacture drones."

Unsurprisingly Rodney was the first one to regain the power of speech after Jason's announcement. "We can make our own ZPMs? We don't need to scavenge them from god knows where in the galaxy?"

Both John and Elizabeth looked at Jason waiting for him to answer.

Jason could almost see the hope in their eyes. Already they were thinking about how this could change the conflict against the Wraith. And it was true that it would change things, but there was going to be some work required before they reached that point.

"Well not really…ok we sorta can." Jason stuttered for some reason he just felt bad; it was almost like he was kicking a little puppy. "Everything is fully functional but we need to find the raw materials. Other than that, there really is nothing to prevent us from doing it."

"Of course without the raw materials the Ancients would've eventually drained the ZPMs dry powering the shield. That must be why they submerged the city and retreated back to our galaxy. Wait; do you know what materials are needed? Perhaps there is something in the Ancient database."

"The drones require neutronium and the ZPMs are a little trickier. They need a special crystal that can only be grown in specific solution. I can get you the chemical formula for it because frankly it's way beyond me."

There wasn't much to say after that. In the short term, the manufacturing facilities would be useless to them but once they found a source of neutronium and Rodney had a chance to analyze the chemical formula necessary for the ZPMs than their ability to take the conflict to the Wraith would be greatly increased, even without having the Ancient's prototype weapon.

Finally, they reached their new home. The reentry onto their new home was rather uneventful. Like the takeoff, there was some turbulence but that was the worst thing experienced by any of the inhabitants. Outside, the shield was absorbing massive amounts of heat from the friction generated as they entered the atmosphere.

Eventually, the city splashed down into the ocean. Great waves spread out from each of the six piers. When the city had settled into the water, Jason shut down the engines and lowered the shield. There was no reason to drain power from the ZPMs.

"Well, let's go take a look at the place." John said. Together he and Jason left to join the others in the control room.

**November 7****th****, Mekaran Home World, Pegasus Galaxy**

Wraith Dart fighters sped by over the rustic village. Culling beams swept up anyone unlucky enough to be caught. Soldiers marched across the land stunning all those they found and burning out the hiding places, leaving nowhere for the hapless inhabitants to hide.

In the sky hung two Wraith cruisers, the fighters were continually landing and launching from the ships after they had reached their cargo capacity. The cruisers occasionally opened fire, destroying the larger buildings and leveling much of the village.

Higher yet, unseen by any on the ground, were another five Wraith cruisers. Mors'la stood in the bridge of his Cruiser and looked down on the planet through the view screen. It had been nearly a week since he'd taken the task force on this mission. Once they had finished culling this planet they would return to the safety of Shezz'la's territory.

Things had gone according to his plan. The first planet had been culled and his forces well on their way long before any defense forces arrived. The second planet was proceeding just as smoothly. Both cruisers on the planet were nearly finished, it wouldn't be long before they could leave.

"Commander, we are picking up a hyperspace window." A Wraith called out.

"Why are we just picking this up now?"

"The planet's magnetic field is unusually strong; it must have reduced the range of our sensors." The Wraith explained. "Sir, two Hive ships have emerged. They're launching Darts."

Mors'la cursed silently to himself. He couldn't leave until the two cruisers had returned from the surface. If it had been a different situation he might have left them behind but he was reluctant to leave them and return to Shezz'la with nothing to show for his losses.

A tactical display showed the two Hive ships in relation to the 5 cruisers that he had available. One Hive ship was in slightly front of and ahead but otherwise they floated in space side by side. Already the Dart fighters were swarming towards them like angry bees. If the Hives launched their full contingent of fighters then they would be facing close to 200 fighters. The cruisers only carried a single wing of 12 fighters apiece.

"Launch all fighters. I want cruisers 5 and 7 to circle and come up above and behind the trailing Hive ship. Cruisers 2 and 4 will remain with us. We will draw the Hive ships' fire."

The orders were relayed and the ships began to move. One of the few weaknesses of the Hive ships was the placement of their primary weapons. The ships had a very limited firing arc. Their greatest vulnerability was enemies approaching from above. In these situations, the Darts would serve as a screen until the Hive ship was able to maneuver away.

60 Dart fighters launched into space from the cruisers. They sped away from the cruisers and began to engage the fighters pouring out of the Hive ships. Blue light flashed across space and small explosions could be seen flaring into life and fading seconds later. Fighters from both sides ceased to exist at a rapid pace but the greater numbers from the Hive ships were slowly shifting the tide of battle in their favor.

While the fighters engaged in their dance, the cruisers moved forward. Cruisers 1, 2, 4 engaged the Hive ships while 5 and 7 moved in behind them. The cruisers' guns opened up and blue white energy bolts blasted across the void of space to slam through Dart fighters and into the hull of the lead Hive ship.

In response, the Hive ship opened up and fired a broadside. The cruisers were more agile than the Hive ships but nowhere near quick enough to dodge incoming fire. The cannon blasts slammed into the hulls of the Cruisers. Chunks of armor floated away into space after having been torn from the ships.

Two wings of fighters broke through the screen and sped towards the three cruisers. Mors'la continued to fire on the Hive ship while he ordered the other two cruisers to focus their attention on the fighters.

The greater speed of the cruisers had allowed cruisers 5 and 7 to circle around and above the trailing Hive ship. They opened fire as soon as they were in range. Their weapons continued to hammer unceasingly at the engines of the Hive causing them flicker with power intermittently as the damage grew increasingly severe.

Inside the Hive ship, the Queen was trying to reroute power to the defenses and regeneration. Already they'd lost two of their power plants. If they lost the other two then they would be helpless. Desperately, she called for her fighters to break off and target the two cruisers.

Close to 30 fighters peeled away from the main fight and sped back towards the trailing Hive ship.

The cruisers detected the incoming fighters and moved closer together in order to concentrate their fire and reduce their vulnerability. In the seconds that it took for the fighters to get away and head back towards the Hive ship, the two cruisers let fly another withering salvo of energy blasts. This time, the armored hull couldn't hold and it buckled. Fire blossomed on the rear of the great ship and chunks of armor were disintegrated or pushed out into space. The massive engines flickered one final time before fading entirely. The Hive ship was stuck. It would be impossible to maneuver without engines.

The other three cruisers weren't faring as well. Mors'la had been forced to retreat behind the other cruisers or he would have been destroyed by the Dart fighters and Hive ship weapons. Just as he was issuing orders to regroup, cruiser 4 detonated in a blinding flash. The shockwave destroyed a handful of fighters but there was still a good 40 fighters remaining.

Suddenly, the Hive ship shuddered. Coming up from the planet at a steep angle to the Hive ship were the remaining two cruisers. Their fighters were launched and already making their way to protect Mors'la and cruiser 2.

Meanwhile, cruisers 5 and 7 had managed to destroy most of the attacking fighters. In the process, the remaining Darts slammed into both cruisers, ignoring any return fire. The impacts pushed the cruisers into each other and set off a series of detonations that tore the two ships apart.

With the fighters distracted, the Hive ship was forced to split their fire between the four cruisers. Mors'la and his remaining escort surged forward and opened fire with everything they had left. It was true that the Hive ship was unmatched by anything left in the galaxy but even it could be overwhelmed by the unrelenting fire of 4 cruisers. Not long after they renewed their attack, the Hive ship was torn apart.

After seeing cruisers 5 and 7 destroyed, Mors'la ordered the remaining cruisers to retreat. There were still more than enough fighters to take out his forces if they followed the same tactic. The only reason they were able to escape was because the fighters had fallen back to protect the remaining Hive ship.

Space ripped open and the 4 remaining cruisers jumped to hyperspace leaving the crippled Hive ship ad remaining fighters behind orbiting the now uninhabited planet.

**November 11****th****, Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

Atlantis and its residents had quickly settled back into their routine within days of landing on their new home. Mere hours after landing, Rodney had reset the Stargate and Atlantis was reconnected to Earth. Based on the new location and the fact that the Wraith had no way of locating them, the Daedelus was going to be sent with the remaining personnel and would begin a regular supply run shuttling back and forth between the galaxies.

Most of the military detachment was either involved in training or in ferrying the Athosians over to the main continent. With the new influx on soldiers, John had established new gate teams which often meant that existing teams were split so that every team had someone experienced not just with gate travel but with the Wraith and the Pegasus galaxy in general.

Jason had even made a few trips to the mainland to help the Athosians reestablish their settlement. It was a pleasant break from school. He'd been forced by John and Elizabeth to start reviewing material in preparation for finishing his High School education. For the first time in his life, he felt dumb. The rational part of his mind told him that it was illogical but here he was in another galaxy surrounded by some of the brightest minds that Earth had to offer and he was working hard on just finishing up his senior year.

Still, it wasn't all bad. Helping the Athosians had been fun and it had gotten him out of the city for a while. Plus, he'd even had a field trip already with the botany team. They were busy cataloging new plant species and bringing samples back to Atlantis. For Jason this meant he got to explore the forests on the continent without having to worry about getting in trouble with John.

After the first few days stuck on the planet, John was starting to get a little stir crazy. It was quickly decided that it would be in the best interests of everyone involved, at least from a mental health standpoint, to begin off-world missions once again.

Now Jason was standing on the balcony outside his quarters looking up at the night sky. He'd long since gotten used to the stars being different but the thing that kept throwing him for a loop was the fact that there were two moons visible in the sky. There were another 3 moons that weren't visible. For some reason, of all the strange and bizarre things he'd seen since arriving in the Pegasus galaxy, it was the sight of two moons that struck him the most.

He yelled out "Come in." when he heard the door chime. It was possible to lock the doors but very few people actually did it. Most people were polite enough to wait for an acknowledgement before entering but there were some that were less tactful than others.

"Jason where are you?"

His brother's voice was unmistakable. John had been off-world for the last day breaking in his new team members. Carson had long since agreed that Jason would be notified if John was injured so the fact that he'd heard nothing told him without even looking that John had made it back in one piece for a change.

"I'm out on the balcony."

John ambled out to the balcony. Before coming to see Jason, he changed out of his BDUs into a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. His hair was still damp from his shower but as usual was styled into an organized mess.

Before he moved to stand next to Jason, John took a moment to observe his little brother. It wasn't the first time he'd done so, especially since getting back to Atlantis from Earth. Despite the threat of the Wraith, Jason seemed more relaxed and at peace than he was on Earth. He supposed that it was easier to push your problems away when you were in an entirely different galaxy but he was still determined to have Jason meet with Dr. Heightmeyer, the base psychiatrist. In fact, he'd already setup an appointment for his brother which was part of the reason he was here. He also just wanted to see how Jason was doing and settling in.

"Did you want something or did you just come here to observe me like a lion in a zoo?"

"No, not a lion, you're not cuddly enough to be a lion. I think you'd be more like a sloth, all pudgy and slow." John laughed as he moved to stand next to his brother.

"Hey, I am not pudgy!" Jason spluttered indignantly. "Besides, Carson won't let me work out for another week at least with my fingers still in splints. You of all people should know by now that you don't cross Carson."

John frowned. He remembered the last time he'd tried to sneak out of the infirmary only to have Jason tattle on him. "Don't think I've forgotten about your little Benedict Arnold routine back before the siege. I will get my revenge."

"I thought that was what school was? You mean you're planning something else?" Jason wasn't concerned. John always talked a big game but when it came down to it, Jason had him wrapped around his little finger.

Just because John wouldn't do anything physically to his brother, that didn't mean that he was above pushing his buttons when it suited him. Right now, one of the best buttons to push with Jason was his often talked about romance with a certain doctor. "So, how are things with Catherine?"

Not that John could see, but Jason rolled his eyes. It had barely been a week and already his love life was the stuff of everyday gossip around Atlantis. Jason assumed it was anyway since anytime he walked into the cafeteria the woman proceeded to giggle uncontrollably.

"You mean Ford hasn't been keeping you up to date on the latest happenings?" He tried to make it sound like he was joking but it would have been impossible to miss the sullen undertone. Jason wanted to yell at Ford or someone, didn't he stand out enough as it was being the only teenager from Earth in Atlantis.

John caught the slight change in Jason's voice and decided that joking around might not be the best thing for Jason at the moment. "I'd rather hear it from you. Besides, I prefer not to hear gossip about my little brother's love life."

Jason turned to look at John for the first time since he joined him on the balcony. It was obvious that Jason was trying to determine if John was making fun of him or not. In the end, he just sighed and gave John the benefit of the doubt.

"It's…I don't know. It's just weird. I mean she's 4 years older than me and already a doctor. I don't even have my high school diploma."

John put his hand on Jason's shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. "Hey don't worry so much about it. It's not like you are engaged and seriously what the chances that this will even become serious? So if you want my advice, just go with the flow and have fun."

Jason thought about it. John was right. Why should he worry about it? If they had fun together than did anything else really matter? Besides, she may be a doctor but he was the last member of an incredibly ancient and powerful alien race, which had to count for something. The more he thought about it, the more he agreed with his brother. He was barely 18 years old and she wasn't that much older, how many people find their future wife or husband at that age?

"What about you and Teyla? I don't think it's fair that Ford refuses to gossip about either you or Teyla."

"Ah, the advantages of being the senior military officer in Atlantis."

"You still didn't answer my question." Jason pressed. At least if he was going to be embarrassed he wouldn't be the only one.

John wasn't going to say anything but decided he did owe it to Jason after all since he'd helped him pull it all together. The Daedelus hadn't arrived yet and even when it did, there were things that would still be hard to come by.

"Dinner was great. I think it was the first time we have been alone without being under attack by someone." John paused as he remembered that night. It was just two nights after Atlantis had landed. Jason had helped John by conjuring up everything he would need for a romantic dinner, including candles and small table for two in one of the unused apartments. Jason had even conjured fresh fruit to go with the food that John had snagged from the cafeteria. "Thanks for the help. Everything was perfect."

Jason smiled and leaned against John's shoulder. "I like her. She can keep you in line. I can use all the help I can get with the amount of trouble you get into."

"Ha…ha."

"Seriously, though…" Jason paused and looked at John with an evil expression. "She reminds me of mom."

John looked at Jason in horror for a moment before he realized what Jason was doing.

"Oww!" Jason rubbed the back of his head where John had smacked him hard.

"Dude, that was just wrong! You just had to go and put that image into my head."

"I don't want any nieces or nephews any time soon. You don't need me talk to you about protection do you?"

"Ow! Will you cut that out?!" Jason practically shouted at him while he rubbed the back of his head. "That hurts!"

"Stop acting like a dumb ass then!" John replied almost as sharply but there was a distinct note of humor in his voice.

Jason glared at his brother and debated when it would be worth getting hit again for another cheap shot. The fact that his head still stung a little from the last swat convinced him that it would be in his best interests to change to a safer topic of conversation.

So he returned to his original thoughts before John had joined him and said "I still haven't gotten used to the fact that there are two moons in the sky."

Before John could correct him Jason added "I know I know there's more that we can't even see."

John grinned at his brother. "I did actually come here for a reason. Once the Daedelus gets here, you're school will start up again full time."

"Humph…it's so not fair. How come I have to go to school?" He'd already been reviewing his text books and Elizabeth had even given him homework assignments. The only bright note had been the 'field trips' with the botany team to the small continent. Unlike the one settled by the Athosians, it was densely forested. It would have supported the Athosian village but it would've taken a lot more work to clear the land first and it had large venomous snakes.

John had no sympathy for his brother. First, he knew that Jason didn't mind school and having to go into a simulator for a few hours a day wouldn't be too taxing for him. Second, it really would make sure that his brother could always decide to pursue something if he ever returned back to Earth permanently. Personally, the longer he was on Atlantis the more it felt like home. Earth was just a spot to visit.

"You know, it's your own fault. If you hadn't stepped through the Arch that day…none of this would've happened." He threw his arm around Jason's shoulders and pulled him against his side in a brotherly hug. Even with the threat of the Wraith hanging over them, he was glad to have Jason with him.

Jason made no move to get away. He just enjoyed the quiet moment with John. "I could've stayed in the wizarding…" He never finished. For a moment, he'd forgotten about everything that had happened, the attack, the deaths, all of it. Being on Atlantis, it was so easy to forget. Everything was so much bigger. On Earth everything was small and confined by rules and laws but here in Pegasus there was a freedom that he'd never experienced before on Earth. He'd never even realized its absence until he was in Atlantis. "Never mind." He finished lamely.

"Hey, I know you don't want to hear this but I setup your first appointment with Dr. Heightmeyer."

There was no missing the whiney quality to Jason's voice when he said "Do I have to?"

"Just trust me on this one Jason, they'll help. I know you don't want to do it but if you trust Dr. Heightmeyer she'll be able to help you in ways that I can't."

Jason shrugged and moved away from John. Suddenly he was tired and just wanted to go to sleep. When he turned to walk back inside, his knees buckled and he had to grab onto the railing to keep from falling.

"Jason! What happened? Are you ok?" Ever since Jason had been so sick, John's worst fear had been that he would contract some disease that they wouldn't be able to treat. As a result, he tended to be overly worried about the slightest thing.

It wasn't that Jason was ungrateful for the concern and he fully understood the reasons behind it but still it could be stifling at times.

"I just got dizzy for a second, no big deal. I'm probably just more tired than I thought from hiking with the botanists today." There was no way that he was going to tell John that he felt hot too. It was probably some 24hr bug and it would be gone by the morning.

John chewed his lower lip. He really wanted to take Jason to see Carson right now just to make sure there was nothing wrong. But he also recognized the muley look on Jason's face and knew that it wouldn't be easy to drag his brother down to the infirmary.

"Ok but if you still don't feel good tomorrow; I'm taking you to see Carson."

Since arriving on Atlantis, Jason had learned which battles were worth fighting. Sometimes it was just easier to give in and go with whatever John wanted him to do. In this case, he was actually being reasonable which made it even harder for Jason to protest too much. Yet, he wasn't a little brother for nothing and even if he was going to go along with it that didn't mean he couldn't pout and score some points for not arguing.

"That's fine, I'm sure it's nothing a good night's sleep won't cure."

**November 12****th****Traveler Ship - Perseus****, Pegasus Galaxy**

Larrin, a tall athletic woman with shoulder length wavy brown hair and brown eyes, entered into the council chambers for the first time in months. Their ships were starting to get dangerously low on supplies and her ship along with two others had been sent to negotiate for supplies and replacement parts needed to conduct repairs on other members of their fleet.

She stood in the middle of a large chamber. The other ship captains along with the council members were seated at the semi-circular table that dominated the room. There was roughly an even mix of men and women; some were in the mid 20s while most were spread evenly between 30s and 40s. Only the council members were older and they no longer captained a ship but instead served more as fleet officers.

"Larrin, what news do you bring us?" The head of the council, Tarnis, spoke with calm and strength. His voice easily carried throughout the entire chamber and was enough to silence those that were speaking or arguing with their neighbors.

She wished she had better news to share but things were looking bleak at the moment. It wasn't just her people either, but nearly every planet they'd visited had been culled like never before.

"The Altakans and Trevans have been decimated. The few people that remained will take years before they are in a position to have anything of value to trade again. That is, assuming they survive at all. I've never seen cullings where the Wraith take so many."

"Were you able to get anything?" A random ship captain asked. His ship was in dire need of repairs but the parts were in short supply and if more weren't found soon they may be forced to abandon his vessel.

Larrin nodded. "Yes, the worlds in the more remote regions of the galaxy have not been affected by the Wraith, not yet anyway." Before people could get too excited though Larrin added more to her report. "The supplies are being divided up between the fleet as we speak but I fear that even with rationing they won't last more 4 months. We need to find a new source of supplies."

"Thank you Larrin, we appreciate the risks you have taken to obtain these supplies." Tarnis had been considering this problem for some time. His people had been traveling for thousands of years, always on the move and never with a permanent home to return to. Unless the situation was to change in the near future, their way of life would have to change if they were to survive as a people.

Normally, Larrin would have taken a seat now but she had more news to pass along. "My apologies but I have more. During our journey, we came across an abandoned Lantian battleship."

This caused a stir amongst all those present. The Lantian battleships were known only in legend. Such a ship would be able to provide them with much needed space for families and would ensure a measure of defense against the Wraith that they hadn't had for many years.

Tarnis wrapped his hand sharply against the table grabbing everybody's attention. "Larrin, please continue."

She couldn't stop the slight smile at the total power that Tarnis had over the assembled council and ship captains. "It appears to have been damaged during a battle with the Wraith and was later abandoned. There is some damage to the hyper drives but otherwise the ship appears to be fully functional."

"I take it there is more otherwise you would have shared this news with us first." Tarnis pressed.

"Yes, the controls do not respond. Nevik believes that the controls require a genetic component to activate the neural interface."

"Is there any way to bypass the controls?"

"We are trying to do so but we haven't had any luck yet. The best option would be to find someone or something that had a viable genetic sample that could be used to develop an interface of some kind." Now she was finished and so she moved to her chair to sit.

Another captain, one that Larrin was only vaguely familiar with spoke up. Unlike many, his ship was in relatively good condition so he'd been on his own scouting mission to see if there were any cultures that had escaped the Wraith long enough to reach a similar level of technology to their own.

"I have come across many rumors of the return of the Lantians. Originally I had not given the rumors any credence but there have been too many with similar descriptions to be false. All speak of small teams that travel through the Stargates on foot or sometimes in small flying ships that are able to turn invisible."

There was some discussion about whether these were truly the Lantians or whether someone had found a way to make use of their technology. They had come across derelict vessels in the past but they had never been able to successfully backwards engineer them to make them useful. In all that time, they'd never once run across any signs that the Lantians had survived anywhere. However, based on the rumors it sounded unlikely that the people were Lantians given the nature of their weapons. Still, the people may prove to be useful allies if they'd reach a level of technology that enabled them to understand Lantian technology.

Ultimately they decided to setup a series of spy satellites around worlds that were known to have Space gates. With luck, the Lantians or whoever the people were would visit one of those worlds and then they could make contact.

**November 12****th****, Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

John groaned and rolled over in his bed. Blindly he reached out for his radio which was beeping in a very annoying fashion. After a minute spent knocking things off his nightstand, John finally grabbed and stuck it in his ear.

"What?!" He hated being woken up at 4am in the morning. This had better be damn good or he was going to dish out some punishment.

"Colonel, I need you and Dr. Weir to report to the control room immediately."

John recognized Carson's voice easily. "What's the situation Carson?" While he was speaking, he was getting dressed and pulling on his boots.

"Three members of the botany team have all shown signs of illness including dizziness, fever, and memory loss. I'm afraid we may have to lockdown the city before it spreads further."


	19. It's Never Easy

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

**A/N: ****It's shorter than usual but then it's completed earlier too. So o****n with the show.**

**A/N 2: ****S****poilers for 04x06 – Tabula Rasa**

**Chapter ****1****9: ****It's Never Easy**

**November 1****3****th**** 4:30am,**** Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

"Carson what the hell is going on?" John blurted rather abruptly as soon as he entered the conference chamber on near the control room.

The conference room had been setup with a video link to the infirmary. Evidently the situation was direr than he believed. As much as John wanted to groan about yet another crisis facing Atlantis he couldn't help but relish the adrenaline that was already surging through him. There was a reason why he stayed in the military. He was born for this. It was why he never gave up on his people. But it wasn't just about helping or protecting others, it was also about testing himself and his limits. Everything was a challenge to overcome, an experience to relish, or a memory to savor. John knew that there would always be those that thought him a simple jarhead because he was in the military but anyone who knew quickly realized that John was focused and insightful.

Normally, John might have been more casual when talking to Carson. This time was different, there was a crisis so the leader that John was came to the front banishing the friendly, casual banter and replacing it with a reassuring yet firm voice of command. It was a voice that focused people on the task at hand and gave them the confidence that their leaders would see them through the current crisis.

Carson described the situation so far. There had been three confirmed cases of the same illness. Another two were being brought to the infirmary while they spoke but until Carson could run their blood work he wouldn't know for sure if it was the same thing. Overall, the symptoms had been relatively mild, dizziness, headaches, and a slight fever but until he knew what they were facing it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Carson, what do we know about your patients?" Elizabeth was trying to get a handle on whether they had another hot zone type incident. "Do we need to ask people to stay in their quarters?"

Carson looked over at someone off camera for a moment before answering Elizabeth's question. "The first three confirmed cases all came from the botany team. The two that were just brought in work in Rodney's lab. Now I don't know if it is the same or not but I think we need to treat it as if this were an outbreak."

Elizabeth immediately relayed the order for a lockdown to Chuck in the control room. While Elizabeth was making a city wide announcement, John continued to ask Carson some questions.

"Why are we doing this in the conference room?"

"I didn't want you exposed. All the medical staff on duty including myself have tested positive for the bacteria. Whatever this is, it is highly contagious."

Something that Carson said struck a chord. The botany team was showing signs of the illness. "Carson, was this the same botany team that was at the smaller continent today?" John wasn't dreading the answer so much as expecting it. Jason's luck of late seemed to run more towards the bad than to the good.

"Aye it is."

"Shit! Carson, Jason was with them and I know he had a dizzy spell before I sent him to bed to try and sleep it off."

"Colonel, I'm going to send some of the off-duty med staff up there to take blood samples. There's a good chance that you were already exposed." Carson was trying to get a grip on how wide spread this epidemic was already. If the staff in the control room were infected than any measures they took to try and quarantine the city were most likely too late.

"Great, that means I could've just spread this to everyone up here."

"If it is as contagious as I think it is than I fear that the entire city may already be infected."

Elizabeth had finished giving her instructions and turned her attention back to John and Carson. "Ok Carson, I caught some of that at the end. What do we need to do? I've already order a lock down and have suspended all gate travel."

"There's not much more for you to do at the moment. My staff will be doing blood tests on everyone to see how widespread the bacterium is but other than that for now you will just have to sit and wait."

"Wait Carson, what about Jason?" John asked before Carson could break the connection.

"I have a feeling that the infirmary is about to get flooded with people. It's best that we leave him where he is for now. I will have a couple of the nurses check on him though, just to make sure."

Elizabeth stepped back into the conversation. "Carson, keep us posted. We will begin reviewing options for an emergency infirmary."

**November 13****th****, Potter Home, Suffolk, UK**

It wasn't even dawn yet. Thomas was asleep in what used to be Jason's bedroom. They'd been forced to move back to Suffolk after their London flat had been attacked. Even though both James and Thomas had escaped relatively unharmed, neither felt safe in the London flat anymore. James was hoping that being so near a muggle military base would give them an added measure of security, that and who would expect him to return to the home where his other son was attacked?

There was a blank computer screen in front of him on the table. The computer was brand new, barely out of the box but he'd been assured that it would be the easiest way to keep in touch with John and Jason. Now James just kept staring at it, knowing what he had to do but never believing that he would be forced to do something like this, especially after Voldemort had been dealt with.

The last 2 ½ weeks had been a nightmare for his family and the whole of magical Britain. It all started with the deaths at the Ministry of Magic when Jason, John and the others had stepped through the Veil. Like before it drained the wards in order to power itself but this time, the entire building became unstable and though they had been warned about what could happen a large number of Ministry employees had ignored the warnings coming since they were coming from a muggle and stayed anyway.

Many of those wizards and witches paid with their lives that day.

On its own, that wouldn't have been enough to start the firestorm that swept across his world but it laid the groundwork for what was to come next.

Sighing resignedly, James started to type slowly, definitely unused to doing such an activity. It wouldn't do to put this off and he was truly worried about the safety of his family.

_Dear Jason,_

**November 13****th**** 8:30am, Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

John was pacing in the conference room. He was stuck there along with everyone else until they got confirmation from Carson on how wide spread the epidemic was. Honestly, he wasn't even sure he had it, so far he hadn't experienced any of the symptoms but he couldn't lie to himself. It was just a matter of time until he came down with whatever it was.

The other thing that was killing him was not being able to see Jason. He'd received word from one of Carson's nurses that he was in his quarters sleeping. Of course, the woman would know if he was in danger or not but still John would've felt more comfortable if he'd seen Jason for himself.

After completing another circuit in front of the screen, John stopped to study Elizabeth for a second. She had been quiet since her announcement to the city. Luckily, she had access to her laptop so she could use work to distract herself while they waited for more information from Carson. Unfortunately, John's office was on a separate level so he was not able to do the same thing.

"What's taking so damned long? We should've heard something by now!"

Elizabeth looked up from her laptop. The way she had it positioned John was unable to see what she was actually working on. In this case, like John she'd been unable to concentrate on anything so she was actually playing solitaire.

Before Elizabeth could answer or try and sooth the man's nerves, Carson's face appeared on the screen. If his expression was anything to go by than whatever news he had wasn't going to be good.

"Dr. Weir, Colonel Sheppard what have you come up with for an emergency infirmary? We are getting reports from all over the city of people that are beginning to show signs of the illness."

John had come up with the idea to use the cafeteria. It was large enough and only had a single entrance so if necessary it could be secured.

"We can use the cafeteria Carson. I assume that we can safely say that the majority of the city is infected?" John asked.

"Aye, so far every blood test has come back positive. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to find anything matching the bacteria in the Ancient database yet but we are still looking."

Elizabeth stood from her chair and moved over to stand next to John. "There's more isn't there Carson. What's happening to your patients?" It had to be something related to the illness or Carson wouldn't look so flustered.

"The bacterium is beginning to affect the patients' brain chemistry. It seems to affect that ability to access memories. So far, the effect is fairly limited but I suspect that it will grow much worse as time passes."

"How bad are we talking here Carson?" John asked. Having scientists and soldiers running around Atlantis without their memories could be dangerous for everyone involved.

"The three members of the botany team don't even remember their names. If we can find a cure, I'm confident that their memories will return since there doesn't appear to be any underlying brain damage."

John turned to Elizabeth. "We need to start getting everyone into the cafeteria. It will allow us to secure the city without putting anyone in at risk."

Elizabeth agreed. "Carson, your thoughts."

"It's as good an idea as any. I will transfer all but the most critical patients as well." Carson paused again and swallowed nervously. "You should also know that I've begun to experience symptoms myself."

'Crap' John thought. If Carson was taken out of the equation, things were going to get a whole hell of a lot harder. "Ok Carson, do what you can."

Elizabeth left the conference room to have the general quarantine lifted. The message would only be sent out to the military teams so that they could begin bringing people to the cafeteria.

While Elizabeth was doing that, John was on the radio with his men. He gave them a quick run-down of the situation and told them what he needed them to do. Major Evan Lorne, his new second-in-command was in charge of the teams that would be escorting scientists to the cafeteria while John coordinated from the control room.

-----

Teyla was already in the cafeteria helping to convert it over to a makeshift infirmary along with Aiden Ford. Together, the two were shifting a table towards the far wall so more cots could be setup. When they were nearing the far wall, Aiden stumbled and dropped his end of the table.

"Are you alright Aiden? We can rest if you are tired." Teyla asked. It had been an interesting experience following Aiden through the gate. He was much younger than she was but in time Teyla was confident that he could become a confident and capable leader.

"No, I just got dizzy for a second…" He trailed off. Dizziness was one of the first symptoms. He'd hoped since he hadn't had any headaches or anything else that he may have dodged the proverbial bullet. "Give me a minute then we can finish. How are you feeling?"

"I am fine. In fact I feel as if I'm in perfect health." Teyla responded.

Aiden was looking at her now quite intensely. She was right, Aiden thought. Teyla looked exactly like she normally did. Maybe her people were immune to whatever this thing was.

"I think you should go see Dr. Beckett. Maybe your immune for some reason, it might help."

Teyla nodded in agreement. It was a good idea. "Very well, I will be back shortly."

She wasted little time in making her way down to the infirmary. Teyla could only hope that her blood held some answers or a possible cure.

-----

Jason woke up in his bed. Looking around the dimly lit room, he didn't recognize anything. Where was he?

His muscles protested as he got out of bed. He felt a little achy like he would if he had a bad cold or the flu. Moving around the room, Jason found jeans and a t-shirt that appeared to fit him. With clothes on, he felt more secure but he still wanted to find out where he was.

He stood staring at the door for a minute trying to figure out how to open it. For a just a moment he got a flash of himself waving his hand over the blue crystals that were glowing softly next to the door. Confident, he mimicked what he saw in his memory and like magic the door opened.

Not long after he was in the corridor he came upon a group of 4 men that were dressed as soldiers. The man in charge had light brown hair and appeared to be about 6' tall.

Jason stopped when one of the soldiers pointed to him.

"Major." The soldier prompted. He like the major and the other 2 soldiers were all new to the expedition. So he had heard that there was a teenager that was part of the expedition but he didn't know anything about him.

Jason watched suspiciously as the 'Major' walked up to him and grabbed him firmly by the arm. "You need to come with us."

The major wasn't expecting any resistance from the teenager. Like his men, he knew that Colonel Sheppard's brother was part of the expedition but he didn't know any of the details as to why. There hadn't been time to brief him on the situation. The only thing he knew was that Jason was the only one that could operate the Control Chair.

Lorne never noticed when Jason's eyes narrowed. "Who are you? Where are we?"

There wasn't time to deal with this. He and his men still had so many people to relocate to the infirmary. "Everything will be ok. Just come with us."

"No!" Unbeknownst to him, Jason's eyes began to glow softly. "Let me go!" He pulled away from Lorne sharply. At the same time, he instinctively pushed out with his magic.

Lorne and the three soldiers were slammed into the wall of the corridor.

Weapons were drawn at quickly aimed at Jason.

His memory was spotty, but Jason recognized a weapon when he saw it. Without really understanding what he was doing, blue energy surged from his hands and encompassed the four men.

It was a struggle for Evan and his men to breathe. Whatever the energy was it was crushing them, pressing them against the wall with greater and greater force.

The power flowed from him effortlessly. Almost dispassionately, Jason stood there simply watching the soldiers struggle to breathe. Suddenly Jason gasped, for just a second he had a memory of a tall man with dark brown almost black messy hair wearing the same uniform. He didn't know who it was, but Jason knew he trusted the man.

He backed off and let the power diminish. But Jason didn't know who he could trust or where he was. All he was certain of was that he needed to escape.

Even as Lorne and his men struggled to their feet, blazing white energy swirled up from the floor and surrounded Jason. It grew even brighter for a second before vanishing along with Jason.

"What the…" Lorne muttered before tapping his radio. "Colonel Sheppard this is Major Lorne, come in."

There was a brief burst of static before the Colonel's voice came back through the radio.

"Go ahead Major."

"Colonel, your brother is wandering around Atlantis. We tried to bring him to the cafeteria but he disappeared in a flash of light." Despite his curiosity about the colonel's brother, Lorne kept his voice flat and professional.

"Roger that Major. Just leave him for now; we will use the city's sensors to find him."

**November 13****th****, Potter Home, Suffolk, UK**

_Dear Jason,_

Two words…that's all James had managed to get down on the computer in the last 10 minutes. Every time he started to type he got caught up in his memories and worries.

Like almost all of the purebloods in their society, James wasn't particularly thrilled with the idea of the Queen Elizabeth establishing her authority over their world. The British wizarding world had been independent for so long that most had forgotten that the crown was still the ultimate authority.

So as the Queen began to exercise her authority once again, many of the old families began to worry that their way of life and their power within the wizarding world would end. That was how it all started, the protests and rumors of attacks.

It wasn't just the old families that were stirring up trouble. All the magical races that had been oppressed for so long saw an opportunity in the anarchy that was sure to occur. In a surprisingly short amount of time, there were attacks led by werewolves against any well known opponent of their equality. Other creatures were more circumspect but bodies drained of their blood left little confusion as to who was behind the murder.

James was still amazed that everything had happened in the span of 2 ½ weeks.

The attacks and protests were troubling but not a huge concern for the general population. The Queen had provided additional military forces that were preparing to safeguard key locations in the world to protect the population and strike back against the attackers.

It may have worked too, but now they would never know. It wasn't really the Queen's fault. So much time had passed since she had taken an active role in their world that it should have been expected that her methods would be a little ham-fisted at first.

The firestorm truly started with the trials of Albus Dumbledore and Cornelius Fudge.

_Dear Jason,_

_I never thought I'd be writing a letter like this. __So much has happened since you left and for the first time I find myself truly thankful that you aren't here. _

_Thomas and I need your help. __We need to leave England._

**November 13****th**** 10:30am, Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

John was ready to tear Atlantis apart. Jason had been missing for close to two hours now, ever since he disappeared in front of Lorne and his men. He hadn't been concerned until the city's sensors came back with nothing. It was entirely possible that Jason may have transported himself into the ocean, that particular though sent a chill down John's spine.

Now he had to deal with the latest from Carson. Teyla and Rodney had joined them in the control room to listen to Carson's report. Aiden was leading a team to finish bringing the scientists to the cafeteria.

"What are we looking at?" Elizabeth asked. On the screen was a rotating picture of what she assumed to be the bacteria. The testing had shown that everyone on the base was infected except for Teyla and now most of the command staff was showing symptoms. John, Rodney and she all were experiencing headaches and slight fevers. It was only a matter of time before their memories started to be affected. They'd been given a stimulant that might help preserve their memory but even that was just a guess.

"This is the bacteria. Wait I wrote this down…" Carson looked down at some notes he had written. He was further along that John and the others. Already his memory was starting to be affected. He'd tried to run Teyla's blood work multiple times having forgotten that he'd already performed the tests.

"It is very similar to something I found in an Athosian boy lost year. I think Teyla called it…she called it…"

"Kirsan syndrome?" Prompted Teyla.

"Yes that's it. The bacterium appears to have mutated." Carson explained that the bacterium was slightly different from what was found in the Athosian but it was too similar to be anything else. Normally, Kirsan syndrome was similar to Chicken Pox in that children got it far more often than adults and then developed immunity to it.

Rodney theorized that the Ancients had unwittingly brought the bacteria with them to the planet when they first conducted a survey. Over time, the bacteria must have mutated into its current form.

Despite the discovery, it would take weeks for Carson to synthesize a vaccine from Teyla's blood. In essence they were back at square one until Teyla suggested that the sap of a common plant is typically more than sufficient to cure the disease.

Before they could get further into it, the discussion was interrupted.

"John? John can you hear me?" Jason's voice was a little scratchy but otherwise he sounded virtually normal. Everyone in the control room heard him since he was coming in over the loud speaker.

"Jason? Where are you? How do you feel?" John asked quickly.

Carson had speculated that Jason was suffering from severe memory loss when he defended himself from what he perceived of as a threat. If that was the case though, then he shouldn't know John's name.

"I'm ok. I'm in the Chair room." There was a short pause. "John, I think I attacked a few of the new soldiers, it's still a little fuzzy but I don't think I hurt them."

The sound of Rodney snapping his fingers caught everyone's attention. "Of course, SG-1 encountered an Ancient that was able to heal herself. Since for all intents and purposes, Jason is an Ancient it stands to reason that his immune system would function in the same way."

"So he can't be reinfected?" John pressed. He didn't want Jason exposed again to just to start the whole cycle all over.

Carson answered. "I doubt it. His system will have developed the antibodies necessary to fight off the bacteria. But that still doesn't help the rest of us."

"Yes it does."

Elizabeth suggested a plan that the five of them hashed out. John and Teyla would take a puddle jumper and go to the mainland to try and find the plant. While they were gone Rodney would work on a way of aerosolizing the plant and distributing it through the city's ventilation system. Jason would be with him to make sure that Rodney didn't forget what he was working on. To everyone's surprise, Rodney didn't even put up a stink when he found out that Jason would be babysitting him.

"Teyla, I need to see Lorne before we leave. I have an idea." John said.

**November 13****th****, Potter Home, Suffolk, UK**

It was amazing how fickle the wizarding world could be. When news first broke that Cornelius Fudge and Albus Dumbledore were going to be put on trial, there was outrage from all corners. It was one of the few times that the British wizarding world was united.

Well, it was united for all of 3 days until the testimony began to come out. Just as quickly as the support had flooded in, it disappeared. The people learned that their independence was lost because of the actions of two foolish men. Whereas before the newspaper editorials were excoriating the Queen for daring to judge two great and honorable wizards, now those same papers were eviscerating Dumbledore and Fudge for the actions that led their world to its current crisis.

The verdict was never in question. The evidence and the testimony were irrefutable. The only real unknown was what punishment would be handed down. In the past, the two wizards would've been sentenced to Azkaban but even that was now in question though no one could really imagine a worse punishment unless it was to be 'kissed' by one of the Dementors.

The punishment turned out to be worse than anyone could possibly imagine. To a wizard or witch, the punishment was worse than being 'kissed' or sent through the Veil.

Albus Dumbledore and Cornelius Fudge, after having been found guilty, had their magic permanently bound. For the rest of their lives, the two men would be little more than squibs.

And once again the ever changing wind of public opinion swung again.

This time it wasn't outrage or indignation that drove people, it was outright fear. If the two former leaders of their world could have their magic stripped from them, what would stop the muggles from doing the same thing to everyone else?

That was when it started. That single event on top of so many other single events lit a fire that quickly engulfed the entirety of the British wizarding world. The flames of a civil war burned bright and it seemed like nothing could stop them from scorching the land bare.

_Dear Jason,_

_I never thought I'd be writing a letter like this. So much has happened since you left and for the first time I find myself truly thankful that you aren't here. _

_Thomas and I need your help. We need to leave England._

_Our __world is tearing itself apart and no one is safe. __The Queen has sent in her forces but there has been little they could do to stem the tide of violence.__ I think it is only the fear of retribution that has kept the muggles safe. I wish I could say the same held true for everyone else._

_I don't know how to say this and I realize you never knew your mother the way I once did. But yesterday __Lily__ was found murdered__ along with dozens of others when__ St. Mungo's hospital was sacked and burned to the ground._

**November 13****th**** 1:30pm, Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

Jason was pacing around Rodney's lab while the irascible scientist continued to work on his program. Somehow, Jason still wasn't really sure how, the program would distribute the aerosolized form of the plant that John and Teyla were hoping to find on the mainland. It was too bad that they couldn't use the Control Chair but Rodney's program was needed to change the parameters on the basic function of the ventilation system which wasn't something that could be done directly by the chair.

Being stuck with Rodney didn't particularly bother Jason. For some reason, without some of his memories, the man was actually more pleasant to be around. No, what was annoying was the fact that he kept having to reassure the man and keep him on task.

As time passed, Rodney remembered less and less. If John was in a similar state, than Teyla would have her hands full. Jason knew his brother could be difficult to deal with when he was confused or disoriented. Having no memory or being in unfamiliar surroundings would certainly put someone on edge.

"What am I doing? Who are you?" Rodney asked, the agitation in his voice growing quickly.

Jason sighed and stopped pacing. This was at least the third time that they had been through this. He'd never been this nice to the man before and it was a little disconcerting. "Rodney, you are working on a way to distribute medicine via the city's ventilation system."

"Why am I doing that? I don't understand."

As much as he wanted to just yell at the man and tell him to do it, it wouldn't be fair to Rodney. It wasn't his fault he kept forgetting. "My name is Jason Sheppard, and you are scientist here in Atlantis. The city has been infected with a disease that is affecting everyone's memory. What you are doing could save everyone's lives."

"What if I can't?" Rodney whined nervously while at the same time staring at the computer screen that was filled with line upon line of computer code.

Jason had never seen Rodney so lacking in self-confidence. It really hurt to say this but he knew Rodney needed to hear it.

"Rodney, you are arguably the brightest scientist hear in Atlantis. I know you can do this, you just need to trust in your abilities." For a moment Jason thought he was going to be sick, he sounded worse than an after-school special. Thank god John wasn't here; he'd never live it down.

Relief from further pep-talks came in the form of footsteps and voices coming down the corridor. Jason knew that Lorne and his men had been stunning anyone not already in the cafeteria and it was more than likely that their memories weren't much better than Rodney's.

"Rodney stay here and finish that program. Whatever you do, don't leave this room; I will see who is out there." Jason debated briefly about just throwing up a shield around the doorway but it would just attract attention. He didn't doubt that he could keep them out for a while but he had no idea when John and Teyla would get back from the mainland. It would be safer for everyone for him to lead them away from Rodney.

Rodney just watched as Jason left the room. None the wiser, he was already beginning to forget aspects of the current situation. In a burst of inspiration, he tapped a few keys on the laptop and began to record himself a message.

As he left the room, Jason knew there was a good chance he was going to be defending himself from the Lorne and his men.

He'd barely made it 20 feet from the room when he caught sight of Lorne. There were 5 other men with him.

"Hey you! Stop!" Lorne called out loudly.

Unlike the last time he'd run into the man, Jason watched as all 6 of them immediately drew their weapons. Thankfully they weren't using their P90s but the smaller Wraith hand-held stunners. Still full-body shields would be useless since he'd never figured out to make them air permeable.

"Shit!" He began to run in the opposite direction.

As soon as he started running, Lorne opened fire. Blue-white stunner bolts started to fly all around him and slam into the walls and floor around him.

Two of Lorne's men peeled off the main group and ran down an adjoining corridor while the others continued to pursue Jason.

Jason took a left into one of the main corridors and began cursing himself when he noticed how wide open it was. There was no cover so he was forced dodge back and forth.

He focused his magic into his hands and leapt forward down the staircase. Flying head first down the stair Jason twisted in the air and came down on his right hand. Magically reinforced muscles bent slightly with the impact before pushing straight up launching him into the air. His body twisted and spun so that he was facing Lorne and his men when he landed.

One hand was thrust in front of him and was glowing brightly. A shield formed in front of him centering on his outstretched hand. Wraith stunner bolts struck the shield and dissipated harmlessly.

He punched his right hand forward and let loose a small ball of blue-green magic. The sphere shot forward and slammed into the floor near Lorne.

Lorne grunted as he crashed into the floor. The other men were luckier and started firing back at Jason.

Jason was forced backwards under the onslaught of stunner fire. He went down on one knew and placed his free hand on the floor. Concentrating he pushed his power down into the floor. Spinning disks of light appeared under the men's feet.

Grunting with effort, Jason pushed still more power into the disks, and all of them shot up from the floor carrying the soldiers with them before disappearing abruptly.

Satisfied that a fall from 15 feet in the air would at least stun Lorne and his men, Jason turned and started to leave.

"Crap…" Jason collapsed to the floor unconscious. Approaching him were the two soldiers that had circled around and come from behind.

**November 13****th****, Potter Home, Suffolk, UK**

Yesterday Lily was murdered…was it only yesterday? It already seemed like a lifetime ago. St. Mungo's had been attacked by a mob, there was really no better term for it, of pureblood and half-blood wizards. They stormed the hospital searching for any muggleborns because in their minds, the muggleborns were responsible for the Queen taking an interest in their world again.

Unlike in the fight against Voldemort where the majority of our society stood on the sidelines, this time there are no observers. Everyone is involved. Somehow, all the prejudice, all the discrimination, all the corruption was boiling over and scalding everything in its path.

James could only guess that Lily had been in St. Mungo's for her regular therapy when the attack began. The survivors refused to speak of the details but the condition of Lily's body left little to the imagination. She was guilty of two unforgiveable sins in the mob's eyes. Lily was a muggleborn and worse she had tried to push a false savior onto their society.

The mob hated her for it.

James felt tears roll down his face. Lily was so different from the girl he knew in Hogwarts but he still cared for her. There would always be a part of him that loved and that same part of him had hoped that someday they may be able to put the past behind them and begin again. Now, that could never happen. Lily had been taken from him again, this time it wasn't by a prophecy but the raving madness of an angry mob.

Now he feared they were after Thomas.

_I don't know how to say this and I realize you never knew your mother the way I once did. But yesterday __Lily__ was found murdered along with dozens of others with St. Mungo's hospital was sacked and burned to the ground._

_Our flat in London was attacked too. I was barely able to escape with Thomas. We are staying at our home in Suffolk. I can only hope that being so close to the military base will keep us safe. Fear of the muggles' retribution is the only thing that has prevented things from escalating even further._

**November 13****th****4****:30pm, Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

Jason moaned softly and blinked his eyes. His body was tingling all over and for a moment he couldn't remember why.

It was a struggle to get to his feet but when he saw that he was inside a cell in Atlantis it all came rushing back to him, the illness, John, Rodney, and Major Lorne.

Of course, it would've been hard to forget the Major since one of his men was standing directly in front of Jason on the other side of the force field shielded bars.

"Where's Major Lorne?" He couldn't help but gloat a little. After all, Jason felt he was perfectly justified; they were the ones that shot him.

The man's face reddened sharply. Major Lorne was in the infirmary with a broken leg and until they found a doctor, he was probably stuck there.

"He's in the infirmary, right where you put him! Now unless you want to stay in that cell for the rest of your life, I suggest you answer my questions."

It was tough, but somehow Jason managed to not roll his eyes. The man was so over the top it was like he was in a bad movie.

"You haven't asked me anything yet." Jason was feeling stronger now and was standing straight and tall. He was looking at the soldier defiantly with his arms crossed over his chest. There was a chance that his magic could get him out of the cell but he didn't want to chance apparating through a force field.

"Who are you and what have you done to this city? I want to know what you did to make everyone sick!"

Jason watched as the man popped open a small pill container. The soldier shook out two pills and dry swallowed them quickly. Jason wasn't sure what the pills were but he suspected that they weren't doing their job.

"Tell me who you are? Are you working for the Wraith?" The man demanded.

For the first time since waking up in the cell, Jason's emotions surged and his magic surged along with them. The cell walls groaned and the force field glowed softly as Jason's magic lapped at it ineffectually.

The soldier actually smirked. "We figured those force fields would hold you…"

Jason watched in surprise and his magic quickly faded when the man slumped to the floor. Behind the soldier stood Rodney, Elizabeth and Radek Zelenka.

"Rodney? Oh thank god…" Jason muttered. Part of him was stunned by the fact that he was happy to see Rodney McKay.

Rodney had a laptop on his hand and held up for the three of them to look at. On the screen was a picture of Jason with text telling them to trust him. "Jason?"

"Yeah, I'm Jason. Can you get me out of here?"

Jason watched as Rodney rolled up his sleeve and read something that he must have written earlier. Rodney moved a little tentatively towards the control panel for the cell before slowly entering in the deactivation code.

An energy surge shot through the force field before it deactivated and the door to the cell slid open. Jason thanked them and was going to lead them back to McKay's lab after explaining the situation but he stopped to grab the soldier's radio and his stunner. Both could be helpful if they ran into more of Lorne's men.

This time, they didn't encounter any more soldiers and the four of them stayed in Rodney's lab. The scientist was able to finish compiling his program so that all they needed was the plant from the mainland.

It wasn't long after Rodney's program was ready that Jason heard Teyla's voice over the radio. She was asking for Major Lorne. Apparently she and John were in the jumper bay being harassed by some of the soldiers. They refused to believe she was here to help, especially after his little display.

"Everybody, stay here. I have something to take care of." Jason was getting tired of running around. He'd more than gotten his daily dose of exercise already without having to go rescue Teyla and John.

By the time he reached the jumper bay it looked like Teyla was getting ready to try and fight her way free. A few quick shots from Jason's stunner and the 4 soldiers were lying on the floor of the jumper bay unconscious.

"Were you able to find the plant?" Jason asked hopefully while at the same time stepping carefully around the fallen men.

Teyla nodded and pointed to the plastic garbage bags lying at her feet.

"John?"

His brother didn't even acknowledge him. But rather than let it hurt him, Jason knew it was nothing more than the illness. "Ok, follow me. Rodney has finished the program."

After that, it didn't take long to administer the sap through the city's ventilation system. Now all they could is wait and hope they were able to deliver the cure in time.

**November 13****th****, Potter Home, Suffolk, UK**

With the escalating violence in the wizarding world, the Queen had ordered that the borders be closed to all witches and wizards. The last thing she or any of the other world leaders needed was a flood of refugees and/or criminals spreading to other nations. It was callous but she had to look at the bigger picture.

James didn't know how they did it but somehow wards had been raised that were preventing any unauthorized wizard or witch from leaving the country. They weren't anti-portkey or anti-apparition wards because both forms of travel still worked, they just wouldn't leave the borders of the UK.

There had been a time when the war against Voldemort was at its height that James swore he would never run from his home or let someone drive him away. How naïve he'd been. If there was no one else for him to look after, no one else that he was responsible for than James would never even consider leaving Britain, but the fact of the matter was that Thomas simply wasn't in a position to defend himself. To make it worse, James was deathly afraid that after Lily's murder Thomas would become a lightning rod for future attacks.

So for the first time since he became an adult, James was going to run from a fight.

_The Queen has established wards that prevent any magical person from leaving the borders. __W__e need your help. You and John are the only ones that I can turn to. Please talk to someone. __I'm willing to do __anything;__ we can help at Atlantis or on other projects but please try.__ I'm not sure how long I will be able to keep your brother safe.__ All the chickens have come home to roost and I'm not sure if __the wizarding world__ will survive the fallout._


	20. Just Another Day

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

**A/N: Slight Spoilers for 04x03 – Runner**

**Chapter 20: Just Another Day…**

**November 17****th****, Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

It had been close to three days since the sap from the plants had been distributed through the ventilation system in Atlantis. The effects were seen in a matter of hours for most of the inhabitants with symptoms fading and memory returning. There were a few like John that were hit harder. In John's case, he was knocked out for close to a day before he'd recovered enough to get out of bed.

In a few cases, injury more than illness was the reason for their being in the infirmary. It was a tossup between Jason and Evan Lorne as to who was more apologetic. Jason even went so far as to visit the man in the infirmary after his leg had been set.

Jason walked into the infirmary feeling more than a little nervous. This was the first time that he'd ever intentionally hurt someone that wasn't attacking him. What the major was doing didn't count because he was sick and didn't realize who Jason was.

"Umm…Major? I don't think we've been formally introduced." When nervous, Jason typically fell back onto humor. It always worked in high school. Or course, it didn't work real well with McKay but then Jason had been annoyed so his humor was a little more mean spirited when he transfigured the scientist's clothes.

Evan looked up from his laptop. If he was going to be stuck in the infirmary for a day while Carson made sure that the stimulants didn't have an adverse reaction with his pain meds he figured he might as well get some work done.

"Do I know you?" Everyone's memory was still a little spotty. It was coming back pretty quickly and when presented with a reminder or cue the memories came back right away.

"I'm…" Jason began but Evan cut him off almost immediately.

"You're Colonel Sheppard's brother aren't you?" Evan asked abruptly and a little harsher than he intended. It was all coming back to him now. With the memories came a flash of irritation too, he should've been briefed on whatever he'd been using to get away from his men.

"Jason Sheppard. Look, I'm sorry about the leg. I was just trying to keep you away from McKay." Jason offered apologetically.

Evan studied Jason closely. He wanted to question him about how Jason had done but he didn't think that would go over to well with his commanding officer. Instead he swallowed his anger because he hadn't been at his best between the illness, memory loss, and the stimulants. If he was being honest with himself, Evan was just happy that they hadn't killed anyone.

"Maybe I should be thanking you. You and Teyla did save the city and everyone in it."

Jason knew the man was curious about what he had done in the corridor but for once he planned on letting John handle that particular problem. Of course it wasn't a secret, pretty much all of the original expedition members knew about him it would only be a matter of time before the new arrivals did as well.

"Why don't we call it even and leave it at that?"

Evan nodded in agreement and let the matter drop.

Jason wandered over to talk with Catherine for a few minutes. They hadn't seen each much in the last few days since the entire medical staff was swamped making sure that people were recovered and that there had been no lasting damage. Before he left, they made plans to have dinner together.

Glancing at his watch, Jason saw that he was late with his training session with John. For the first time he was being given a chance to go off-world for something other than a life or death mission. It wasn't supposed to be dangerous; Jason was just going with one of the anthropology teams to visit a planet they had become friends with shortly after the Atlantis expedition arrived in the Pegasus galaxy.

Like most societies in this galaxy, the Laudinians were fairly primitive and poor. Until recently, the Atlantis team had been able to do little more than give advice on better farming techniques. Before the arrival of the Daedelus, Atlantis simply didn't have the resources to give direct aid to anyone in anything other than a military capacity.

Despite the fact that it sounded boring, having to hang around a bunch of anthropologists all day, Jason was excited to get off world and see another planet. John hadn't given him a chance to explore any of the worlds that held the Ancient laboratories on them so this would be a first.

Of course, John being who he was, he had to make sure that Jason was ready to defend himself if necessary. Oddly enough for John that meant additional time sparring because he didn't want Jason using his magic unless absolutely necessary. Both John and Elizabeth were afraid that the news would get back to the Wraith and put Jason in danger.

On reaching the gym, Jason was almost immediately set upon by John. This was one of his new lessons and was designed to make sure that Jason was always alert even when he was in what could be considered a safe environment.

John didn't let up until they had been going back and forth across the floor for close to an hour. By that time, Jason was covered in sweat and sore in places he never knew existed. It had been a long time since he'd exercised so hard and he certainly hadn't come anywhere near something so strenuous since he'd been sick.

"Jeez John going overboard much?" Jason panted out while mopping at his face with a towel.

"This isn't a game Jason!" John wiped the sweat from his face. "Do you have any idea of how many people have been lost on routine off-world missions?"

Jason didn't get a chance to respond before John plowed on. "You have to be prepared for anything and I know you have your magic to fall back but that could be more dangerous to you if it became widely

known. The Wraith would certainly be after you. The Genii and others would no doubt try to turn you into a weapon, so no I'm not going overboard."

"Sorry I said anything." Jason muttered before hanging his towel around his neck.

John watched silently as his brother left the gym and he didn't miss the not so subtle glare sent his way. 'Shit' he thought, I could've handled that a lot better. It was tough at times to remember that Jason wasn't a little kid anymore. He'd been looking out for him so long now that he forgot Jason was more mature than most 18 year olds and he'd been in tough situations before and handled them well.

Jason was still muttering to himself when he felt a hand grab his shoulder. He'd been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't even heard anything. Spinning in surprise Jason saw John standing there with a hangdog look on his face.

"What?! Is there something else I'm not taking seriously enough?" Jason snapped before he turned around and started to stalk away.

"Jason wait, I just…I'm sorry."

That brought Jason up short. He hadn't expected John to apologize so easily.

"Look I just get worried about you. I don't want you to get hurt especially when I'm not there to help protect you."

Jason turned again and he could see the total sincerity shining from John's eyes. Now he felt guilty. John never did anything without reason. Normally he would've trusted John but he and Elizabeth were making so many decisions for him it felt like he was a little kid again. It wasn't fair, he was 18 years old and he was an adult, well at least legally he admitted mentally.

"I'm sorry too, I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."

Now John grinned and moved over to stand next to his brother. "Come on let's go get something to eat before I have to get ready for my mission."

Together they walked back to their quarters to shower and change before heading to the cafeteria.

**November 18****th****, Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

John had been gone for just over a day. According to Elizabeth everything was quiet; they were on a forested planet with virtually no animal life. They had sent multiple teams through, some new, some experienced so that all the newcomers to Atlantis could get some time going through the gate.

With nothing to do and no one to do anything with since Ford was also off world, Jason began to go through his email. When they had checked in following the outbreak, the SGC had sent through all communications that were waiting but in the excitement afterwards, Jason had forgotten all about it.

So it was that he was sitting on his bed with his laptop resting on his thighs. There were a couple of emails from his friends back in the UK. In the privacy of his own room, he laughed at what they would think of him now.

He was just about to go through the messages when he noticed one from his dad. More than a little surprised that his dad had already figured out how to use the computer and email he double-clicked on the message to open it up in a separate window.

_Dear Jason…_

Jason's eyes grew wide and his heart started to race as he read the email from James. How could things have gotten so bad? Then he glanced at the date and swore to himself. The email was 5 days old. God, they could be dead if it was bad as it sounded. Jason had no reason to think it wasn't, James didn't usually exaggerate things, not with him anyway.

What could he do though? It wasn't like he could ask to bring them to Atlantis. In truth, he wasn't sure he wanted them here. It was dangerous and James would probably be fine but his brother would have nothing to do. At best, Thomas would have the gene but even that was in doubt since he couldn't turn on the arch.

Still, maybe his dad could do something for the SGC. They still thought that Merlin was an Ancient so James may be able to help with research so he would have something to add.

Tapping the radio mic that he wore like every other member of the expedition, Jason called Elizabeth.

"Dr. Weir, this is Jason Sheppard."

He waited patiently for her to respond. Jason didn't have any official position within the expedition but he knew that he was afforded certain privileges like virtually unfettered access to Elizabeth and of course his brother. While they were both willing and often did meet with anyone who had a question or concern, Jason usually found himself at the front of the line so to speak.

Elizabeth's voice came through clearly a moment later.

"What can I do for you Jason?" Every time he heard her voice, Jason pictured an older sister in his head. They certainly weren't particularly close but he knew that as much as possible Elizabeth was looking out for him and making sure that he was safe.

"Dr. Weir, do you a moment? I have a private matter that I need to discuss with you?" Even though the expedition knew about magic he didn't want to spread gossip or tell everyone about the problems the British wizards were facing.

She agreed to meet with him in an hour. Jason spent that time thinking about what he wanted to happen. If he wanted to be treated as an adult and at least be consulted when John and Elizabeth made decisions on his behalf than he would need to start thinking and acting like an adult.

The hour passed quickly and Jason was almost late when he became lost in his proposals and arguments. He walked at a brisk pace through the corridors and control room until he stood outside the clear glass door of Elizabeth's office. Jason could see her typing away so he tapped lightly on the glass rather than just barge in.

After being waved in, the door slid open and Jason stepped into the office and let the door close behind him.

Elizabeth motioned for Jason to take a seat. Jason wasted little time in explaining the situation to Elizabeth. He knew she was busy enough running the city without him bringing his problems to her and then needlessly taking up her time.

Elizabeth let Jason talk. As he described the letter that he had received Elizabeth was pondering the implications and just what Jason might be asking for. When he finally finished relaying the situation to her she began her own questions.

"Jason, what exactly are you asking for?" Elizabeth was truly curious what Jason was hoping to achieve because he hadn't really given her any hints.

For the first time since stepping into her office, Jason looked a little unsure and reminded Elizabeth that she was dealing with an 18 year old. True he was mature and capable but that didn't make him immune to the insecurities of that age.

"I'm just hoping that you could help me get them out of the UK. I mean it is partly our fault that things are so bad. If we hadn't used the arch…" Jason trailed off. There hadn't really been any choice. The arch was the only method for getting them to Atlantis in time to fend off the Wraith fleet that had been threatening Atlantis.

"Do you really think it is a good idea to bring them to Atlantis? We just escaped from the Wraith but that doesn't mean that they won't find us again." Elizabeth pointed out. She had closed her laptop and was now leaning forward in her chair with both hands clasped in front of her.

Elizabeth was actually a little relieved when Jason shook his head.

"No I don't think Atlantis is the right place for them either. My dad was an agent for the Unspeakables; I guess you could consider then something like the FBI or the CIA. I was thinking that maybe he could help out at the SGC. Dr. Jackson was researching Merlin and it would probably help having someone who knows the wizarding world to help with that research."

Elizabeth didn't know much about Jason's family other than John of course. If what he was saying was true, than perhaps his father could be useful at the SGC. Regardless though, both the British and American governments did owe the Sheppard family for all that they had done in Atlantis. But she was here in Atlantis and her influence was rather limited as a result.

"Jason I can't make any promises, but I will speak with General O'Neill about getting your family out of the UK. We can take things from there."

Jason nodded gratefully and quickly left Elizabeth's office.

------

Elizabeth was still working at her desk when the alarm signaling an incoming wormhole started to blare throughout the control room. As always, she quickly got up and went to the control room to monitor the situation.

"Do we have an IDC?" Elizabeth asked Chuck the gate technician.

Chuck looked down at the display on his laptop waiting for something, anything to show up. Long seconds passed by before the signal flashed up on his screen. The laptop immediately compared the signal against its database of known identification codes.

"It's Colonel Sheppard's IDC ma'am."

"Lower the shield sergeant."

Chuck pressed the controls that would lower the force field protecting the star gate and preventing any unwanted guests from coming through.

Not long after, John walked through alone and he immediately ran up the stairs to the control room. A quick glance towards the conference room was enough of a signal for Elizabeth. She followed him in where he began to tell her what was going on.

One of the teams had encountered a lone wraith on the planet and inadvertently rescued a man that the Wraith had been chasing. The man had somehow captured two of John's men and in the process they discovered that he had a Wraith tracking device implanted in him.

Now, John wanted Carson to go back to the planet with him to remove the tracking device.

Elizabeth reluctantly gave her approval and quickly retreated to her office. She had no desire to hear Carson's opinion of this little adventure.

**November 19****th****, Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

Jason was bored. John had gotten back from his mission just last night so he would be tied up for most of the day with debriefings and catching up on missed paperwork and reports. Ford and Teyla were still off world and he wasn't scheduled to leave with the anthropology team until the following day. This was definitely one of those times when it sucked to be a teenager in Atlantis. There simply wasn't much to do.

Somehow, Jason ended up in the gym after wandering aimlessly around Atlantis. It was mostly deserted but since he was there he decided he might as well get in a short work out, even if there was no one that he knew to spar with.

Lifting weights was never really Jason's favorite thing to do so he pushed through that part of his workout as quickly as possible. For a moment he looked at the exercise bike trying to decide if he wanted to do that or go for a run.

Just as he was about to leave, Jason noticed a pair of staffs leaning against the wall in the corner of the room. They looked to be the types of weapons that the Athosians typically used very similar to the shorter fighting sticks that Teyla preferred.

For the first time since he entered the gym, Jason started to grin. It had been a long time since he'd used a staff, his martial arts classes back in the UK never used them regularly. Occasionally he and John

would spar with them but John's size and strength advantage at the time were usually enough to overpower Jason regardless of technique or skill.

With a staff in his hand, Jason moved towards the center of the practice area where most of the military went to spar. He began to swing the staff in a series of controlled movements going the kata that he still remembered quite well from his classes. While his body moved through motions long since memorized, his mind cleared and his worries and stress bled away.

Jason finished going through the kata a second time and imagined a Wraith warrior standing in front of him. For a moment, he considered using magic to conjure up something to fight against but decided it would be a bad idea of someone came in. They might get the wrong idea and think he was really being attacked. Instead, he settled for his imaginary foe and began to swing the staff in a series of attacks and blocks.

The imaginary fight was taking up so much of his concentration that he never even noticed that he had an audience. Two men were standing in the doorway of the gym, one was a marine armed with a Wraith stunner pistol.

The second man spoke, breaking Jason's concentration. "You're dropping your left shoulder when you attack. It leaves you open."

Jason spun around. "Huh?" He said eloquently.

Only then did he notice the man. He was huge, even taller than John by a couple of inches. His hair was in long dreadlocks that fell below his shoulder and he just looked solid, not body builder huge but solid muscle none the less.

There had been rumors floating around Atlantis that his brother had brought someone back through the gate with him. This must be the guy because he definitely wasn't Athosian.

For his part, the nameless man shrugged. He didn't really know why he made the comment but while he was here in Atlantis, he needed something to do. Luckily, his guard had been willing to show him to the gym. They'd both watched the kid practice for a few minutes before his comment slipped out.

"You drop your left shoulder. It leaves you vulnerable." He said again in a bland almost disinterested voice.

Operating under the assumption that if the man was dangerous he would never be allowed to roam around Atlantis, even with a guard Jason asked "Do you want to spar? It gets boring just going through the forms. There is a staff over there." He finished while pointing to the corner were the second staff was resting.

The stranger hesitated. The kid had some skill but nothing close to his level and it probably wouldn't be a good idea to injure someone on his first day in Atlantis.

Jason sensed the man's reluctance and he couldn't help himself. John would probably kick his ass for it later but it wouldn't be the first time. "It's ok if you don't want to. I guess your size makes up for a lack of any actual skill."

Even the guard goggled at Jason when he said that.

Jason was more than a little unnerved by the grin that spread across the stranger's face. It was a grin that promised retribution. Without a word, the man moved and grabbed the staff.

The guard waivered unsure of whether he should allow this or not. In the end, he didn't stop it feeling safe with the knowledge that he could stun the man if it got out of hand. His decision didn't stop his eyes from widening when the man went on the attack.

Staffs met each out with a loud _clack_. Jason could feel the impact and his arms shook with the force of it. He began to doubt his taunts and in his distraction let his guard down.

The man wasted no time and Jason found himself on his back when his legs were swept out from underneath him.

There was nothing Jason could do for it but accept his beating like a man and try and learn something from it. So with a mental groan, Jason got to his feet and prepared to become familiar with the feeling of the floor meeting his ass.

Nearly a ½ hour had passed by the time John wandered in. He'd radioed the guard to find out where they were. For some reason, the guard had failed to mention that his brother was sparring with their new guest; well sparring might be a little generous. Jason was covered in sweat and seemed to be spending a lot of time getting up off the floor.

The sparring only ended when Jason noticed John standing next to the guard. He was exhausted at this point and latched onto the first thing that could get him out of this with a shred of his pride still intact.

"John when did you get here?" Jason asked between gasps. He was using the respite to suck in as much oxygen as he could.

John wasn't fooled in the slightest. His brother had a habit of biting off more than he could chew and by the looks of things, he'd just gotten his ass handed to him. Still, he didn't want him getting hurt.

"I've been here long enough. I see you've met out guest."

John then turned his attention to the stranger and was amused to see that he barely looked winded.

"Jason I'd like you to meet Ronon Dex. Ronon, this is my brother Jason."

Ronon was taken by surprise but he refused to show it on his face. "Your brother is pretty good but he keeps dropping his left shoulder."

Jason suddenly felt a chill pass over him. Something bad was coming.

"Well maybe you'll help him correct that problem as long as you are here."

"Why not, I've got nothing better to do."

Yep, this was bad.

**November 19****th****, Genii Home world, Pegasus Galaxy**

The office was drab and dimly lit. The walls were simple grey concrete that had darkened over time. The floor was the same and the room itself was largely empty save for a functional wooden desk with a single bronze lamp and an extra chair placed in front of the desk.

Seated behind the desk was an aging soldier with a darkish mustache and a solid frame that made it clear to even the most casual observer that this man was not to be trifled with.

Acastus Kolya had served the Genii for many years before taking the reins of leadership following the death of Commander Cowan the previous leader of the Genii people. In the wake of the devastating Wraith attack Kolya had been occupied with his people's survival and laying the groundwork for plans that would ensure the safety of the Genii people and the downfall of the Wraith.

In the months since the attack by the Wraith, new crops had been planted. When necessary, expeditions had been sent through the stargate to gather supplies and secure equipment and tools necessary to their survival.

At the same time, repairs were completed on the still undetected underground complex that had served to protect the majority of the Genii people. The complex had been heavily damage but since the attack, Kolya had begun operations to expand the complex and build similar safe houses on other worlds. For years, the Genii had operated a network of spies and informants throughout the galaxy. When possible each of those spies would have a safe location to fall back to if the Wraith attacked the planet where they were stationed.

With much of the rebuilding complete, the reports that continued to pour into his office on a daily basis detailed the efforts to fight the Wraith. Specifically, they dealt with his plans to utilize Ancient technology. It seemed that Ladon had had little success so far in developing a method that would allow the Genii people to make use of this technology. Without it, his plans would come to naught as their technology; even the atomic weapons they now had access to would be ineffective against the Wraith.

"Come!" Kolya called crisply when someone knocked on his office door.

He didn't bother to look up when the door opened, the guards had been told that only one person was to be allowed in. It was a minor show of power to make Ladon wait until he was addressed. It was a necessary reminder to the ambitious scientist of who exactly was in charge. Yes Ladon was a valuable resource but not one that was indispensible.

Once a suitable amount of time had passed, Kolya looked up from the report he'd been reading.

"Yes Ladon, what do you have to report?"

Ladon recognized that Kolya in his own way was a far more capable leader than Cowan had been. Goals had changed for Cowan after he witnessed the power of the Lantean's technology. Protecting the Genii people and securing the defeat of the Wraith became a secondary objective to the man. Foremost in his mind were thoughts of the empire he could build by using that power to subjugate other worlds.

On the other hand, Acastus Kolya was obsessed with controlling the Lantean's technology as well. On the surface at least, he seemed to truly be concerned with the welfare of his people and the downfall of the Wraith. If those goals could be accomplished while meting out justice for the Genii deaths that could be laid at the feet of the Lanteans than so much the better.

So Ladon found himself disagreeing with Kolya privately. The Lanteans could make powerful allies if they were treated with respect. The Wraith were too numerous to be defeated by the Genii alone regardless of whether they had access to Lantean technology or not.

For now he would follow Kolya and observe. If t looked like the commander would become a danger to the Genii people than his former plans could be initiated once again. After all, as a scientist he understood the importance of patience and planning.

"We have made little progress sir. The few pieces of Lantean technology that we have been able to recover had yet to respond to any of the interfaces we have attempted."

"If Dr. Weir is to be believed than there is a genetic component necessary to the functioning of these devices." Kolya commented.

The statement wasn't something new but it simply demonstrated his knowledge and understanding of the task. Ladon would not be able to deceive him or confuse him with meaningless scientific babble.

Ladon nodded in agreement before explaining further. "Yes I agree that it unlikely that Dr. Weir was deceiving us. Yet, without any genetic samples from the Lanteans, specifically those we know to be able to operate the technology I have no way of identifying what it is within their DNA that activates the devices."

"And none of our people have been able to activate the Lantean's technology?" It bothered him that the Lanteans, outsiders from an entirely different galaxy, would have a closer connection to Ancients than his own people did.

"No commander, we have not found a single person." Sometimes Ladon knew it was better to keep his answers short and to the point. The commander was not a man that tolerated dissembling.

Kolya was silent for a few moments while he pondered the situation. While there was little trust between Ladon and himself, withholding information would only hamper the scientist's work.

"We have received word from our agents that the Lantean's have once again begun traveling through the stargate but their address."

"This may be our opportunity to obtain the genetic samples I need to understand how the Lantean technology functions." Ladon offered eagerly. True he believed that an alliance with the Lanteans would serve his people better in the long run but he was not going to be able to convince the commander of that fact.

"Yes Ladon it is." Kolya agreed in a very condescending tone. "I have already offered large rewards for the capture of any Lantean. Given that many of these worlds are struggling to survive I'm sure they will be most receptive to our offer."

"Do you think they will be able to capture the Lanteans?" Ladon knew that the majority of worlds within the galaxy were far more primitive than the Genii much less the Lanteans. It would be difficult if not downright impossible for them to capture the Lanteans without harming or even killing them in the process.

"No Ladon I do not, that is why they will be paid for the information only. Our people will capture the Lanteans."

As much as the plan made sense to Ladon, there was one aspect that seemed to be too great of a risk. "If the Lanteans realize that we are responsible for the capture of their people, they will come here."

"Oh I have no intention of hiding from the Lanteans. I will use their people as bargaining chips to obtain the technology we need. In fact I already have the detention facility ready for their arrival. The current guests should prove to be a sufficient motivator"

Ladon had to restrain himself from flinching. He knew exactly what detention facility that Kolya was referring to. This was not the way that things should be done. There were lines that you simply did not cross even in the name of survival.

Perhaps it was time to reevaluate Kolya's suitability as leader of the Genii. It was highly unlikely that he could have all the pieces in place before a confrontation with the Lanteans but he may be able to influence the outcome and generate some goodwill at the same time. It was going to be a delicate balance. He would have to get his own message to the Lanteans once the situation began to unfold... Providing them with the location of the detention facility could be the key in turning the Lantean's anger away from his people.

"What will we do once we have the Lantean's technology and ships?" He was curious to see if Kolya would answer him. Normally the commander kept his plans close to his chest to prevent anyone from disrupting them or their enemies to learn of them.

"We will do nothing for quite some time. I want our people to fully trained on the Lantean technology before we enter into battle with the Wraith. If that means waiting until the next hibernation cycle then so be it but I will not risk our people needlessly or have them die on a fool's mission."

Ladon was somewhat surprised by the answer. Kolya could be extremely brutal with their enemies but by all appearances he was not willing to be as brutal with their people. This was a good thing. Ladon decided that perhaps Kolya would be open to negotiations with the Lanteans.

"Commander, would it not be to advantage to form an alliance with the Lanteans? Together we could pose a formidable threat to the Wraith."

Kolya narrowed his eyes slightly at the question but otherwise didn't let his anger show.

"No Ladon, the Lanteans have shown themselves to be untrustworthy. We lost an entire company of men because of their treachery."

Ladon schooled his features but now understood that in at least one very unfortunate way, Commander Kolya matched Commander Cowan. Whereas Cowan let himself be driven by dreams of glory and power at the expense of the Genii people, Kolya was equally driven by thoughts of revenge for the loss of his son during the assault on Atlantis.

"You are dismissed Ladon, when we have the Lanteans and their technology I expect you to succeed in your tasks."

Ladon nodded. As he left the office he was now certain that Kolya represented a threat to the Genii just as Cowan did. In the near future, he would need to play his hand carefully if he was to have any hope of success.

**November 21****st****, Wraith Hive Ship, Pegasus Galaxy**

Shezz'la was in his command room listening the latest reports on the fleet movements of the other Wraith Lords.

"Our scouts report that the Lanteans have left their world."

"What? The city has been left defenseless? Why wasn't I told about this immediately?" Shezzla's mind snapped across the psychic aether that permeated the Hive ship and made his displeasure known.

The Wraith growled and sank to his knees in pain as his mind was assaulted by the powerful Wraith Lord.

Shezzla's mental strength was greater than that of the other Wraith Lords, another advantage provided to him by the Lantean genes that were part of his DNA.

"No my lord." The Wraith hissed out in between gasps of pain. "The entire city has disappeared. Our sensors were able to detect the remains of a hyperspace window but it had decayed too much for us to determine a course or heading."

Shezzla's anger still pulsed sending waves of pain through the hapless Wraith but it was weaker now and not focused on the Wraith in front of him.

"Very well, you are dismissed."

Alone again in his command room Shezz'la began to go over the implications of the Lanteans departure. It was possible that they had fled the galaxy once again, this time taking the great city with them rather than leave it for the Wraith to find.

This did not ring true with Shezzla. The minimal exposure he'd had to the new Lanteans showed him that the Lanteans had a strength of will that their ancestors lacked. They chose to fight rather than hide or retreat, despite the overwhelming numbers of the Wraith forces.

No, there must be another reason for their departure. It was possible that the Wraith fleet that had been approaching the city was large enough to overcome the city's defenses. This too seemed unlikely given how long the city had held out under a prolonged siege 10,000 years ago.

Yet these people were not the same as their ancestors. Much of their technology seemed to have been lost leaving them at a significant disadvantage to the Wraith. Still, they were intelligent and clever enough to figure out how to activate and control their Ancestor's technology making them a significant threat and a potent distraction for the other Wraith Lords.

Regardless of why the Lanteans left their planet, Shezzla doubted that they had departed from the galaxy. Most likely they had taken up a position on a new planet somewhere to give them time to regroup and grow their forces.

This could have a disastrous impact to his own plans. The other Wraith Lords may seek retribution for the raids his forces had conducted into their territories. He was still confident that he could hold out against their forces but it would be a significant drain on his ships and resources. He would need an advantage to balance out the large numbers that would be arrayed against him.

The primary advantage that he held over other Wraith Lords was his possession of the Lantean's gene sequence. He had hoped to utilize the great city directly against the other Wraith but for now that option had been removed from the board. But, there was still a vast amount of Lantean technology that lay discarded in former strongholds and outposts.

It had been a mistake to ignore these sources but no longer. Scouts would be dispatched to bring back anything they could find. Anything that could used to strengthen his offensive or defensive capabilities could very well tip the balance of power permanently in his favor.

If and when the Lanteans did return to the fight, he would be prepared for them. His forces combined with the Lantean's own technology would be unstoppable. The galaxy would be his to control.

**November 23****rd****, Potter Home, Suffolk UK**

The Potter home blended in perfectly with the other muggle homes arrayed around the Lakenheath air force base. What couldn't be seen were the numerous wards that had been carefully placed to make attacks difficult if not impossible without alerting the inhabitants and giving them time to escape.

Few people were allowed access to the home. Both Thomas and James were effectively prisoners in their own home. The only time James left was to purchase food and other necessities that couldn't be conjured with magic.

Things had continued to escalate in the wizarding world. There were attacks daily and it still puzzled him why the half-bloods would side with the pure bloods to attack muggleborns. It still puzzled him until Sirius had suggested the most plausible answer.

This war was not the same as the one fought by Voldemort. Voldemort had been fighting for power under the guise of blood purity. This war was a fight for a way of life. Half bloods like pure bloods were more often than not raised within the wizarding world. Consequently they had the customs and prejudices about the way things should be done and how 'lesser' races should be treated drilled into

them from a young age. The muggleborns were the agents of change and easy targets for their fears and hatred.

The whole thing had James ashamed of his world. No sooner had they ended one threat when they willingly started yet another civil war. The corruption and arrogance of his world was finally resulting in its destruction. His only hope now was to get Thomas away from the fighting and to someplace safe.

A bell rang throughout the home signaling the arrival of the only person keyed to the wards that was still on Earth.

James called out from the living room. "I'm in here Sirius."

Thomas was in his room reading or watching TV. It was really the only things he could do other than to practice magic which he did regularly with James. With everything going on, the last thing the Ministry was concerned about was the use of underage magic.

Sirius staggered in a minute later. His robes were torn and scorched. There were bruises and scratches in plain sight on his arms and face.

"Sirius, what happened?"

Before Sirius could even respond James was ushering him into a chair. As soon as his friend was seated, James had his wand out and was casting _Episkey_, the healing spell repeatedly.

Sirius breathed a sigh of relief as the pain from his injuries faded.

"What happened Sirius?"

James was getting a glass of whiskey for his friend; he looked like he needed it. After seeing the state that his friend arrived in, he was pretty sure he needed it too.

"I was attacked just outside of my flat. I barely got away, there were so many of them."

James didn't understand. Sirius was a pureblood, why would they target him? If Thomas hadn't been thought of as a fraud then his family would have been safe too, or at least that is what he used to think. Now he wasn't so sure.

"Why would they attack you? You're a pureblood; everyone knows the Blacks are one of the oldest families still in existence." James said.

Sirius shook his head. "It wasn't purebloods. I recognized at least two of them as muggleborns that worked in the Ministry."

Things had just gotten much worse if Sirius was right. The only thing that had kept the war from escalating even further was the fact that the muggleborns had been looking to the Queen and her forces to provide them protection and to mete out justice. If they were taking matters into their own hands it was only a matter of time before the entire British wizarding world descended into total anarchy.

"Have you heard anything from Jason?" Sirius asked suddenly. His friend knew about his plans, he was the only one. Even Thomas didn't know about his plans, he was afraid that he would mistakenly give them away during one of the few times that James let him out of the house.

"No, I don't even know if he's gotten the message. For all I know something happened to him and John and they could be dead." James didn't really believe that but with the news that the muggleborns had finally entered the war he was letting his more depressing thoughts take hold.

Sirius shook his head and then swallowed his whiskey in one gulp before reaching for the bottle to pour himself another glass. "I don't think so. You would've been notified if something like that happened. He probably just hasn't gotten the message yet."

There was a lot of curiosity on his part but Sirius knew that James couldn't tell him where John and Jason were, if he even knew.

James just nodded absently while twisting his glass in his hands. "What are you going to do Sirius?"

"If you had asked me yesterday, I would have had a different answer."

James waited. He was confident he would get the answer out of Sirius. His friend wanted to talk; he just needed a minute to pull his thoughts together.

"I'm tired of fighting. I'm sick of this war. We had what, a handful of months since Voldemort was defeated and we start another one? I never thought I would want to leave Britain but I'm tired of fighting to preserve the status quo. And there's no one left that I am willing to fight for, except for you, Thomas, and Jason. Hell, maybe Jason had the right idea, just leave the magical world altogether."

James snorted. "Sirius, you wouldn't know what to do if you had to live like a muggle." He put up his hand to pacify his friend. "I didn't either before Jason. But I know how you feel; I never thought I would run from a fight…"

"You have to do what is right for your family." Sirius said resolutely.

"Thomas just isn't ready to fight anyone. I know there have been a few tests of my wards too. I've felt them the last couple of nights. It's just a matter of time before they breakthrough and this time, I'm not sure where we will run to if Jason can't help us."

Sirius straightened in his chair slightly. "Wherever you go, I'll be there with you. I have too much time invested in my godsons to give up on them now."

A knock at the door startled both men. "There was nothing from the wards. It must be a muggle." James said in answer to Sirius' unspoken question.

Regardless, both men had their wands at the ready when James opened the door.

Sirius was standing to the side so he couldn't see who was on the other side of the door but he did here James gasp. Ready for a fight, he edged over just enough to see who it was.

The unmistakable forms of Daniel Jackson and Teal'c were standing in the doorway.

**November 24****th****, Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

It was a beautiful sunny day. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. The temperature was in the mid-70s with a light breeze blowing across the south pier. There was a small box filled with bottled water and sandwiches off to the side.

There were only two people on the pier enjoying the weather.

The Sheppard brothers were out enjoying the weather and just relaxing. In the short time that he'd been on Atlantis, Jason had already learned that you had to take advantage of any quiet times as they came along because there was always something looming on the horizon.

"Why are we doing this again?"

Jason was eyeing the golf driver in his hand distastefully.

John had his own driver. Ignoring Jason for a moment, he concentrated on his swing. The metal club connected with white golf ball with a clear hit. The ball soared in a long arc over the edge of the pier before disappearing into the water with a small splash.

"Golfing is fun." John explained slowly as if he was talking to a young child. He didn't even turn to look at his brother. He just reached a hand into the small bag near his feet. "Go on try."

John stepped away from the tee and made room for Jason.

Jason took some time trying to imitate his brother's form. Per John's advice, he took a practice swing before moving up next to the tee. His first shot skimmed along the pier bouncing and skipping along until it finally rolled into the ocean.

"Why can't we play baseball or at least catch?"

It had been a while since he'd had a chance to play baseball but his coaches had always advised him away from golf. They didn't want him to ruin his batting swing. He didn't know if it would make a difference but he never wanted to take the chance before.

"It's easier to talk this way. I don't feel like yelling just so you can hear me." John explained while setting up another ball on the tee.

"Yeah that and you don't suck at it." Jason laughed at his own joke.

John scowled briefly. "Hey! Atlantis wasn't designed with baseball in mind."

"Clearly golf wasn't on their mind either." Jason remarked as another shot went into the ocean.

"How did your off-world mission go?"

Jason rolled his eyes and sat down on the floor near the food. "Didn't you get a report?"

The comment wasn't totally off base. As the military commander of the expedition John did get included on all reports for every off-world mission. Jason knew without a doubt that John would've spoken personally to the scientists and soldiers that went with him.

"Yes but that doesn't tell me if you liked it?" John said patiently. He'd been very happy to hear that Jason had followed all the mission protocols and both soldiers and scientists had nothing but good things to say. In fact, his presence had helped the villagers to relax in their presence because of his age.

Jason didn't move from his spot on the floor. He just watched as John sent yet another golf ball into the water.

"It was pretty cool. Not the most exciting field trip I've ever been on even if it did go to another planet."

In truth, Jason wasn't being blasé. John found the anthropology missions to be somewhat boring too.

"Well you made an impression because the anthropologists asked if you could go on the mission they have scheduled for next week. They hope that having you there will make things easier again."

"Great." Jason muttered sarcastically.


	21. In the Pegasus Galaxy

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

**A/N: Slight Spoilers for 03x07 Common Ground and I apologize for the lateness of the chapter. I have been traveling for work and haven't had as much time to write.**

**Chapter 21: …In the Pegasus Galaxy**

**November 24****th****, Pegasus Galaxy**

Larrin wandered down the wide corridor of the Lantean Battleship. Her fingers trailed along the metal of the walls, sliding along groves and patterns forged into the hard material. The ship was a marvel and it was well over 10,000 years old. Her own people's ships never would last as long or hold up so well. Even if they were left unattended, systems would break down and the ship would die. Somehow, the Lanteans were able to build ships that survived millennia in the cold harshness of space.

Her people needed to get this ship online. Their fleet was dying. Without new vessels or the facilities to repair their current ships, her people would be forced to leave the quiet of space. The thought of being marooned on a planet, limited to traveling by Stargate was appalling. Worse yet, her people would have no defense against the Wraith; there would be nowhere they could run to.

They needed to get this ship operational again. The thought kept coming back to the forefront of her musings.

Somehow in her wanderings, she found herself on the bridge. There were quite a few people pouring over the ship trying to figure out how to make it respond to them so it wasn't surprising that a handful of her team was on the bridge when she wandered in.

"Larrin, is something wrong?" Nevik her chief scientist and friend asked in surprise.

Startled, she looked over at Nevik. Larrin hadn't even realized that there were others on the bridge with her. It was almost a struggle not to shake her head to try and clear it of her depressing thoughts before answering her friend.

"Have you made any progress?"

Nevik didn't need to ask what Larrin was referring to. For weeks now he'd been trying to build an interface that would allow his people to pilot the ship. As yet, he hadn't even been able to initialize any of the systems that weren't active when they found the ship.

"No, until I find a way to initialize the systems I just don't have enough information to build the interface."

Larrin smashed her fist down on a console in frustration. She needed to get this ship up and running. "What about repairs, have you made any headway there?"

Again Nevik shook his head. "We repaired the obvious damage but without being able to initialize the systems we simply don't know enough to effect repairs."

"Damn it!"



The others on the bridge suddenly found their work to be totally engrossing. They were afraid of attracting Larrin's attention and bringing down punishment on themselves.

Nevik turned away from Larrin's outburst and went back to work. Sometimes his friend required more patience than he had to give.

"Nevik don't turn away from me! If you can't do the job maybe I'll find someone else who can."

As soon as she'd said it Larrin knew she was wrong. None of this was Nevik's fault. The technology of the ship was far more advanced than their own and he was doing the best he could. She knew that but it didn't stop the constant worry that ate at her.

"Go ahead Larrin!" Nevik took a while to anger but once it happened, the scientist was loathe to back down. "You won't find anyone else that can do the work but at least I won't have to listen to you whine or complain anymore!"

Larrin's face darkened and she took a step towards Nevik in a menacing manner.

"Oh what are you going to threaten me now? Someone doesn't like you attitude and you can't handle it can you?" Nevik didn't back up. He just crossed his arms and held his ground. Sometimes the only way to get through to Larrin was to throw everything right back into her face.

"We need this ship! Our people are dying!" She ground out.

"Yes we do but you acting like a child isn't going to change anything is it? Have you magically conjured a way to interface our systems? Oh wait that's right, you expect me to do that for you!"

Larrin recoiled slightly when Nevik called her a child. Her temper was her biggest failing. When she was frustrated she lashed out at those around her whether there was provocation or not.

"Nevik I'm…" Larrin began, her voice and body language was still tense but was radiating remorse at the same time.

"Save it Larrin. Everyone else may put up with your attitude but I'm personally getting sick of it. If you really want to do something about it than stop behaving like a child when you hear something you don't like."

Larrin stopped and took a breath before answering. She moved closer to her childhood friend and said honestly "You're right Nevik. I'm sorry. We've made no progress and our people need this ship and it's just so…so frustrating!"

Nevik smiled gently at her. He truly knew how she felt because he was in the same position. It was his responsibility to figure out how to repair and run the ship and he'd been able to do nothing in the weeks since they'd found it.

"I know Larrin. I just object to you taking it out on me." He smiled at the list taking any sting out of the comment.



"What about the Lanteans? Have we managed to make contact?" Since he wasn't part of the actual command staff he wasn't kept in the loop on the search. All he knew was that several spy satellites had been setup around various space gates in the hopes of gathering information on the Lanteans or whoever was able to use their technology.

Larrin ground her teeth and gripped the console tightly but she took a deep breath before answering. She didn't think it would be long before she snapped at Nevik again but two minutes was too soon even for her.

"No, they are never on a planet long enough for our ships to reach them in time to make contact."

"They may be our only hope of salvaging this ship." Nevik added before moving off to continue his work.

Larrin considered the scientist's words. It was true. As much as she had hoped otherwise, the Lanteans were their only hope at this point. If they moved around too much for conventional methods of first contact perhaps something more drastic was called for. She could only hope that they would understand her reasoning afterwards.

**November 25****th****, Genii Home world, Pegasus Galaxy**

Acastus Kolya had just returned from his latest inspection of the detention facility that would be used to hold the Lanteans. All was in readiness and the two guests were suitably prepared to play their role. The plans and instructions were in place. His soldiers were ready. The only thing that was needed now was word of where the Lanteans would be visiting next. With that information, he would be able to lay his trap.

As he was walking to his office, a soldier ran up to him and passed him a message. Kolya dismissed the man and read the note as he continued walking. Anyone walking by him at that time would have seen a menacing grin spread across his normally dour features.

According to the intelligence sent by one of his spies, the Lanteans would be visiting tomorrow. There was just enough time to get his men in place.

Part of him hoped that Sheppard would be part of the team visiting the planet. The man owed a great debt to the Genii for all the families he had left without their loved ones. It was a debt that he fully intended to call in.

**November 27****th****, P4Z-78X, Pegasus Galaxy**

Jason stepped through the Stargate with the rest of the anthropologists. He would've run if he could, the last trip with this group had been boring even if he had told John a slightly different story. The only saving grace for today's trip was that Ford and Teyla were along as well so at least if he had to be stuck on this trip he had friends to share the pain with.

Jason watched silently as Ford issued a couple of orders to his team. It wasn't really necessary but it always paid to be safe. As a precaution, he left one of his men stationed near the Stargate in case they needed to get in touch with Atlantis.



He'd just started to explore a little when one of the anthropologists, he vaguely remembered the man to be Parker something, grabbed his arm and pulled him over. The anthropologist was in his mid-30s slightly overweight with light brown hair and hazel eyes.

"Jason, I'd like to introduce you to Mekos. He is one of the village elders."

Parker paused for a moment before he finished introducing Jason. "Mekos, perhaps you remember Colonel Sheppard, he was with me on our last visit. Jason is Colonel Sheppard's younger brother."

The man, an elderly fellow with thinning hair and a lanky build, looked at Jason in surprise. It was quickly covered though and he nodded to Jason in greeting.

"Mekos was telling me that a banquet had been planned for this evening." Parker explained to Jason.

Mekos nodded his head enthusiastically. "Yes, we have had a very successful harvest. It would be an honor to have you attend with your comrades."

Jason zoned out again while Parker babbled on with Mekos. He supposed he should pay attention but he'd never been a big fan of social studies and if he'd had his choice, he would have skipped this trip.

When it looked like there was a break, Jason quickly darted away and moved over towards Teyla and Ford.

Teyla smiled and moved to the side to let Jason join them. She had quickly come to realize that Jason and John were alike in many things. Peaceful visits to planets in order to simply meet and learn about the population were not high on either's list of things to do. Teyla could appreciate this view, being a warrior she was not as interested in trade and diplomacy but once she took on the mantle of leadership of her people, she had learned of the role such actions played.

Plus, she had promised John that she would look after Jason. Of course, neither of them would ever tell that to Jason but she knew that John worried about his brother's safety. Teyla worried as well because she owed Jason for his actions on the Wraith cruiser and he was still young and new to the Pegasus galaxy.

It had been sometime since she had practiced stick-fighting with Jason. In fact, she realized they had not sparred once since his return from Earth. John had filled her in on Jason's sessions with Ronon. She had laughed when John described walking in on them the first time only to see Jason practically begging John to do something to end his torment. Yes, she needed to start his sessions again; she missed the time they spent together.

**November 27****th****, Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

Elizabeth had been spending more of her free time translating Malus' journals since they had escaped the Wraith for the second time. Atlantis needed something that could turn the tide of the war. Before she had let Jason take the lead in translating the journals and he was still spending a good amount of time on it but there was simply too much work for one person. Recognizing that, Elizabeth as one the expedition members with the most knowledge of the Ancient language had stepped in to assist.



Between the two of them, they divided up the remaining journal entries between them. Each was taking a different approach. Jason was translating chronologically continuing to build a picture of the work that went on and the precautions that had been taken as the war progressed.

Elizabeth was approaching from the final entries and backtracking. Initially they had not pursued this approach fearing that they would miss critical information that was learned only in earlier entries.

The work was slow going. There were simply massive amounts of information to translate and try to assimilate but the last few entries that she had finished translating left her feeling profoundly disturbed. If she understood this correctly, than the weapon that had been developed by Malus and his team had the potential to be grossly abused.

So intent was she on going over the words once again that she barely even acknowledged that the door to her office had opened. She had called for John and Rodney when she realized what she had found.

John waited patiently. He knew that Elizabeth was involved in something important and it would only be a moment or two.

Rodney on the other hand had never been known for his patience. "If we're just going to stand here watching you work, I'm going back to my lab."

"McKay!"

Elizabeth just looked up and studied Rodney like he was a 4 year old acting up in class. His teachers had never really gotten the look to work on Rodney but Elizabeth was accustomed to dealing with difficult diplomats and knew exactly what to do to make her displeasure known without saying a word.

Rodney saw the look and blanched. "Right, sorry, I'm happy to wait here until you deign to give us your full attention." Of course, any intimidation on the part of Elizabeth could only go so far. Rodney didn't really take admonishment from anyone.

"If you don't want to know what the Ancients were working on to defeat the Wraith than feel free to leave." Elizabeth may not have been arrogant as Rodney but she could do sarcasm with the best of them.

Rodney's entire demeanor changed. He went from being annoyed and impatient to an enthusiastic 1st grader waiting to see the next science experiment. Without being asked or offered, he plopped himself down in one of the chairs and looked at Elizabeth expectantly.

John watched all of this with thinly veiled amusement. "Can you train him to roll over and fetch too?"

In meetings, John preferred to stand unless it was going to be a long one, he just needed to be able to move around, otherwise he just had too much energy and he'd be bouncing in his chair. He guessed that this wasn't going to be a long meeting, more of a 'hey look what I found' kind of meeting so he decided to stand but he did move towards the far wall so he could lean his back against it for the time being.



"If I am reading this write…" She stopped Rodney from interrupting with a glare "Yes I will send you a copy…"

Rodney nodded but held his tongue.

"I think I know why there was so much controversy about the prototype that the Ancients developed towards the end of the war. It disrupts all neural electric activity for an unknown period of time. They were never able to pin down duration because the subjects died before it could wear off."

John thought about what Elizabeth was describing. To him, it sounded a little like nerve gas.

Rodney was visibly excited. "It must affect the Wraith ships as well. We already know that they are organic so not only would we be able to eliminate the Wraith but we could prevent their ships from ever being used against us."

"There's a problem though." Elizabeth started only to be interrupted by Rodney again.

"Of course there's a problem, there's always a problem. Weren't they able to get the prototype to work on a large scale? It wouldn't do any good if it couldn't be fired from space."

John nodded along. Rodney made two very good points, there always seemed to be a problem. Every time they found a potential solution it turned out that there was a reason that the Ancients had never deployed whatever the technology was. Secondly, a ground based infantry weapon would do them very little good if the Wraith simply laid siege to Atlantis from space again.

"Ok, there are a couple of problems. One this talks about it being deployed on one of the Ancient cruisers. Last I checked we didn't have any of those in the jumper bay. Also and what I find more disturbing is the fact that weapon can be configured to disrupt the neural signals of any species. It is simply a matter of setting it to the right frequency."

Even Rodney didn't have anything to say after that particular revelation. A weapon that could be used to wipe out the Wraith was one thing, disregarding the ethics of genocide anyway. A weapon that could be used to wipe out anyone was even more dangerous. If the Goa'uld or even some of the groups on Earth like the Trust were to get their hands on the weapon it would be impossible to calculate the amount of damage they could do.

Rodney said it best. "Ok so we have a doomsday weapon. There's no guarantee that we can even recreate it."

"Rodney's right but even so I would suggest that we don't include what you have learned in our reports until we can come up with a way to limit the scope of this thing. You know that the Pentagon would be all over us to develop a prototype as soon as possible."

"I don't like withholding information that could affect the safety of Earth but I think right now it represents too great a risk. Once we learn more than we can report in our findings. Rodney that means that you have to keep quiet about this too. For now Jason will be the only other person that can be told. He will learn soon enough even if we don't tell him since he is still translating as well."



It was a sign of just how much Rodney had mellowed regarding Jason that he didn't even make a comment. And despite what people may think, he didn't always rush head first regardless of the consequences. He knew that this weapon was simply too dangerous to let fall into the wrong hands.

"Have you learned why they never used the weapon? It sounds like the tests were a success." John asked. He still hadn't moved from his position by the wall but he'd crossed his arms over his chest now and wasn't looking quite as relaxed as he normally did.

"No not really but there are references to a split on the ruling council. Malus didn't go into details though, at least not in these journal entries."

Surprisingly it was John who added "Well, none of this will matter if we don't figure out what materials are needed to even construct the thing. Part of me hopes we never do because anything that frightened the Ancients…"

**November 27****th****, P4Z-78X, Pegasus Galaxy**

Jason was bored out of his mind. He and Ford had spent most of the day together just wandering around the village. Teyla had stayed with them for a while before she went off to see if there were any trade opportunities for her people. He'd been tempted to join her but then quickly decided that it would probably be nearly as bad as spending the day with the anthropologists. So instead, he unknowingly signed up for an afternoon of torture with Ford.

The pair had just finished a circuit of the village when Ford asked "So how is Catherine doing? I couldn't help but notice you checking out some of the women here."

Jason knew there was no accusation it was just Ford simply making fun of him. It was true though, there were a few girls that looked pretty good even if they a little too skinny for his tastes.

When Jason didn't respond right away, Ford pressed harder having sensed a weakness to exploit.

"Getting bored with her already? What's wrong isn't she any good in bed?"

Jason suddenly stumbled in surprise. "What no! I mean…"

"So she is good in bed then. I always pictured her as a little hellion in the sack."

Jason blushed brightly because they hadn't done anything well maybe they had done more than he would admit but they hadn't had sex yet.

"No we haven't gone that far yet." He finally admitted.

Ford laughed at him "What's holding you back? You're both young. It's not like you're in love or anything, just have fun."

Hearing Ford say that was actually a little refreshing. He and Catherine had talked early on about what they may or may not be looking for and what Ford just described was exactly it. Both of them were just looking for someone to have fun with and not have to worry about trying to build some big romantic relationship.

'Wait a second!' Did he just say you're young? "What? You're only 25 what do you mean we're both young? What about you, any scientists caught your eye or are they too smart for you? I bet you prefer them dumb don't you?"

"That's just weak man and besides we were talking about you."

Jason had learned shortly after he met Ford that there were some battles just not worth fighting. Trying to stop him from wheedling the gossip from you was one of those battles. "No we haven't had sex yet. The timing hasn't been right but she's fun to hang out with. It's nice to have someone relatively close to my own age that isn't male plus I'm not interested in having sex with a guy so I hope you're not too disappointed. I don't want you to pine away waiting for me."

"Ha ha funny guy"

That was how they spent their afternoon just wandering around and talking about nothing.

It was nearing dusk when Ford's radio crackled to life.

Before Ford could respond, both felt something jab them in the shoulder.

Jason rubbed the back of his shoulder and pulled out what looked to be a steel tipped dart. "What the…." The world went black before he even finished his thought.

**November 27****th****, Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

"Colonel Sheppard come in."

John was working out with Ronon or it would probably be more accurate to say that he was getting his ass kicked by Ronon. The Satedan had managed to beat him soundly for the last ½ hour despite all the years of training that he'd been through.

"Sorry buddy, I got to take this." He was relieved to get the call. It was no doubt important and he would have to stop sparring for the time being.

Ronon smirked at the man knowingly.

"Colonel Sheppard, we've just received word that the Genii have attacked our team on P4Z-78X." The voice on the other was tense like they were waiting for his explosion.

"I'm on my way." He wanted to scream and yell, he wanted to do something to get rid of the immediate worry he was now feeling but he couldn't do that. John needed to keep his cool or his brother would surely be lost.

John grabbed his gear and turned to Ronon before leaving. "Come on. Our people have been attacked."

One of the things that John had quickly grown to like about Ronon was the fact that he was a man of few words. His expression said everything that was needed in this situation so he wasn't going to belabor it with meaning statements.

Together, they jogged to the transporter and made their way to the Control Room.

"What's the situation?" John demanded as soon as they entered.

Elizabeth was there as well and the other occupants were moving around nervously.

"Colonel Sheppard, I couldn't stop them there were too many." Sergeant Backman explained not realizing that John still didn't know what was going on.

"Start from the beginning Sergeant." John needed to have the whole story before he could fly off the handle.

The Sergeant explained that he had been ordered to guard the Stargate while the rest of the team and the scientists went on to the village. His team had checked in per the schedule until just before he returned to Atlantis. Shortly before the next check-in, a large group of Genii soldiers emerged from over a hill carrying Ford and Jason with Teyla and the scientists following. The only thing he could do was to try and see the coordinates where they were being taken.

"I'm sorry sir; I was only able to see 5 of the symbols from my vantage point." Backman apologized.

"We are already searching the database for possible matches sir." Chuck the gate technician added in knowing that John would be asking.

Elizabeth watched John carefully. She kept her own features carefully schooled not wanting to let him know that she was worried as much about their people as she was about John's reaction. This was a test of his suitability to continue in command, she knew that there were some back on Earth that would look for any excuse to have John replaced.

She just continued to observe as he issued orders to assemble two teams of marines in addition to his own team. As a precaution he called for Carson and asked him to be ready to go through the gate with his men. Since it was the Genii he made sure that the second team had someone with the ATA gene so they could take two jumpers. Together, it would be an overwhelming tactical advantage.

But until they could get the full gate address though, no one was going anywhere.

**November 27****th****, Genii Prison world, Pegasus Galaxy**

The Genii separated their prisoners and placed them into different cells. Teyla and the others had not put up any resistance when the Genii appeared in the village carrying the unconscious Ford and Jason. Between the two hostages and the number of Genii present Teyla quickly realized that any fighting would be a futile gesture. She took solace in the fact that they did not appear to have Sergeant Backman; hopefully he had not been killed.

Teyla tried to protest when they placed Jason in a separate cell from hers. Both he and Ford were still unconscious and she was concerned. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do for the moment but watch as Jason was dragged away along with two of the scientists.

--



Parker had just finished checking on Jason again trying to do his best to make the young man comfortable when the Genii guards reappeared.

Murphy, the third occupant, was dragged away at gunpoint.

Parker was left to watch Jason and hope Colonel Sheppard managed to rescue them before something else happened.

**November 27****th****, Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

John was standing straight and rigid as he watched Chuck and the other technicians work on finding the address. The initial search had come back with a surprisingly large number of hits and the only way to determine if the planet was the right one was to send through a team. For safety he had them going through the gate in a cloaked jumper. As of yet, the planets had been uninhabited or wiped out by the Wraith. None of them showed any signs of the Genii.

The others in the control room moved carefully around John. Many had expected him to be visibly worried since his brother was in the hands of the Genii but instead shortly after he'd learned of the situation, whatever he was feeling was replaced almost visibly by hatred and a palpable rage.

John kept himself rigid because right not he wanted to lead ever soldier in the city on an assault against the Genii. First they'd tried to take his city and now they kidnapped his people not to mention his little brother.

The Wraith were doing enough damage throughout the galaxy without the Genii adding their own brand of insanity to the mix. If anything they should be allies but instead they ended up enemies after their one failed joint mission.

The Stargate started to hum and the blue lights spaced around the ring began to activate.

"We have an incoming wormhole."

"Activate the shield." Ordered Elizabeth out of habit. Even though it was probably the team currently scouting out the next address on their list it was standard procedure to leave the shield raised until they received the identification code.

The wormhole flared into existence, the wash of energy never expanded beyond the shield before it settled back down into the familiar rippling puddle of energy.

"Do we have an IDC?"

Chuck studied his laptop waiting for something to come through but there was nothing on their normal frequency but the laptop was reporting a different signal.

"No but we are receiving a video transmission."

Elizabeth ordered him to transfer the transmission the main display in the center of the control room.



After a brief moment of static the image resolved into a somewhat grainy picture of a man John had hoped never to see again.

"Kolya!" He spat softly without realizing that the mic on his radio was live.

"Ah, Colonel Sheppard it is good to hear your voice again." There was a predatory grin on the man's face that told an entirely different story.

Though Kolya's face took up the majority of the image the y were able to see a number of Genii soldiers on either side of him in the background.

"Cut the crap Kolya, we know you have our people. What do you want?"

It was unfortunate that the Genii did not have the facilities to receive a video transmission otherwise they might have changed their approach to things if they could've seen the murderous expression on John's face.

"Always to the point, very well, I want all of your C-4 and Lantean ships."

Elizabeth entered the conversation, a little shocked at the outrageous demand. "You don't seriously expect us to accede to your demands do you?"

Ronon was whispering with Rodney trying to figure out why there was suddenly so much tension because of just one man. Rodney for his part was giving a quick overview of their encounters with the Genii while never taking his eyes of the screen.

"Of course I don't, that's why I have prepared this demonstration of our resolve."

Kolya stepped back and to the side which allowed the camera to display the center of the room.

Everyone recognized the figure bound and gagged, sitting in a blocky wooden chair in the center of the room. It was Charles Murphy one of the anthropologists that had been taken.

"Will you agree to my demands?" The question was strangely formal and left many wondering what exactly the man had planned.

"No." Elizabeth's answer was short, firm, and left no doubt that she would not concede to any demands.

"Then you leave me little choice." The man nodded to his soldiers and there was a motion at the edge of the screen.

It took a second for the people in the Control Room to realize what they were seeing. No one had thought that anyone was capable of such an atrocity.

"Don't do this." Elizabeth urged because she couldn't give in to his demands. She knew that even if they did, Kolya would never give up his prisoners.



"Let's be clear, it is you that's doing this. All you have to do is change you answer."

When no response came from Atlantis, Kolya smiled grimly and said "I can only assume you doubt me."

The personnel in the Control Room watched in horror as the Wraith was unchained and allowed to feed on Murphy. Even gagged, the screams of pain echoed off the walls of the small chamber and left a chill in the hearts of the expedition members. When the Wraith was done, all that was left was a withered husk of a man.

The Wraith was quickly subdued and shackled again.

Kolya turned back to the camera. "You have one hour to reconsider your position before I repeat this demonstration."

**November 27****th****, Genii Prison world, Pegasus Galaxy**

Jason paced back and forth in his cell. He'd regained consciousness not long after Murphy had been taken away. It didn't take long for Parker to fill him in on what had happened and where they were.

Parker was the only other person in the cell with him. He hoped the others were alive but he just wasn't sure what he should do. John would lead a search for them; Jason had no doubt of that. It had been drilled into his head over and over again that they didn't leave a man behind.

The problem that Jason was facing was whether he should use his magic to attempt to escape. There were two issues that he saw. One, he had no clue where he was or if they were even of the same planet for that matter. Second and more important, Jason had not been able to figure out how many people there were in this place.

This second issue sent Jason in a cycle of self-doubt. He kept seeing flashes of Suffolk all over again and he didn't want to be responsible for killing more men. But, even as these thoughts crept into his head, Jason knew that he wouldn't let them hurt people if he could do something about. Standing by and doing nothing would be almost as bad.

For now, he would wait. His magic would make a great weapon but he needed to use it at the right time.

Parker was sitting on the floor with his back against the rear wall of the cell. His eyes tracked Jason as the young man paced in front of the bars.

"Your brother will come for us Jason. He always does."

Parker sounded much more confident than he actually felt. He'd never been captured before and he had no idea what to expect. It was worse because it was humans. Sure he knew that they had made enemies of some of the human cultures in the Pegasus galaxy but he'd just always assumed that if something was going to happen to him while he was off world it would be the Wraith.

Jason didn't stop pacing. "I know I just need to be doing something."



Jason also hoped that Teyla and Ford were working on a way to escape. He felt better knowing that they were in the same boat as he was. If he couldn't have John here with him, those two were almost as good. Plus there was no Rodney McKay.

The last thought made Jason laugh. When he noticed the strange look that Parker was sending his way, he explained. "I was just thinking how much more miserable this would be if we had to listen to McKay whining and bitching."

Parker laughed with him and added. "Thank god for small favors."

All too soon the laughter faded away and silence returned to the cell.

"What do you think that noise was before?" Jason asked suddenly.

It had sounded like they were taking someone away. There had been some yelling and scuffling but the walls muffled noise too well for him to make it out clearly.

Parker shook his head. He was trying not to think about what the noise meant.

The pair was soon to find out though. A trio of guards approached the cell. Each was armed with a tri-barreled shotgun or what Jason assumed was a shotgun.

"You, come with us." One of the guards pointed at Jason.

Parker was off the floor and arguing immediately. "No take me. He's just a kid. He doesn't know anything."

The guard glared at the anthropologist and simply said. "Don't worry, you'll get your turn soon enough. The commander wants to speak with Sheppard's brother right now."

Jason had a sinking feeling. With that one statement, Jason knew that these people had some kind of grudge against John. His choices had just been reduced.

**November 27****th****, Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

John and Ronon were in the control room along with Elizabeth and Rodney. Carson was also present along with Sergeants Bates and Markham. A handful of marines were present and ready to move out as soon as they had a location.

"Do we have anything? Were you able to get a lock on any more addresses with the symbols that Backman gave us?"

There was no mistaking the tension or threat of violence in his voice. John was ready to snap at anyone at the moment. His brother was out there being held captive by Acastus Kolya. John knew with absolute certainty that regardless of what Kolya said revenge was on his mind.

Rodney actually held back his own snappish response. He was a genius; he'd learned when to keep his mouth shut. "No and even if we do, how do we know they didn't simply gate to another planet?"



"We don't McKay, we send through another jumper to scout it out. We are not leaving our people in the hands of the Genii." Of course he meant it, but what John was also saying was that he was not leaving his brother in the hands of the Genii. Teyla and Ford would follow in a close 2nd and 3rd place after Jason too.

Ronon put his hand on John's shoulder. "We'll find them Sheppard and then we'll teach them a lesson they won't forget."

Elizabeth would've protested but after seeing Kolya allow a wraith to feed from one of the prisoners, she changed her mind. The only thing she said was "Our people come first anything else is secondary."

No one else was able to respond before the Stargate began to power up.

"We have an unauthorized incoming wormhole." Chuck the gate technician announced needlessly.

Everyone tensed waiting for the inevitable transmission and their own inevitable response.

In seconds, the wormhole stabilized and Chuck made another announcement. "We are receiving a video transmission."

After receiving the ok from Elizabeth, Chuck transferred the image to the large display in the rear of the control room. The screen was nearly 42 inches in diameter and allowed all present a clear view.

The room was exactly the same. It was bare but for a single chair in the middle of the room. There were two guards standing on either side of the chair with more along the walls. The only difference from the last transmission was who was sitting in the chair.

"Oh my god." Elizabeth muttered softly.

Ronon growled.

John turned white before his expression was replaced with a look of anger and hatred that none in the room had ever seen before.

Kolya stepped into view. "I'm sure you recognize my prisoner, especially you Colonel Sheppard."

John couldn't help himself. "Kolya if you hurt him, there won't be anywhere in this galaxy for you to hide."

"I don't want to harm him. That decision rests entirely in your hands. Of course, if you choose not to comply I may not be able to stop the Wraith from taking his fill. It would after all be a small measure of justice. Your brother for my son, would that make us even Colonel?"

Elizabeth answered for them. She knew John wouldn't agree to the deal, even to save Jason but she couldn't let this rest on his shoulders. The knowledge that he gave the order to kill his brother would destroy him.



"We won't negotiate with you. If you release the prisoners, we may be able to come to an agreement but not before."

Kolya didn't bother to sound apologetic or upset. He simply turned to his men and nodded.

"Jason do what you can! I will find you." John called out over the radio.

Jason couldn't respond since he had been gagged but he did nod his head.

Ronon was about to ask John what he was doing when Jason's eyes changed.

No one in the room except for John had seen Jason in action before. All they had ever heard were rumors and second hand stories. Now they were seeing first-hand what Jason Sheppard was capable of.

There were gasps when his eyes began to glow a bright blue-green.

The Wraith had just stepped into view when Jason used his magic to destroy the ropes tying him to the chair.

"What is this? Restrain him! I want him alive." Kolya recognized a potential weapon when he saw it. His military training also taught him to recognize a threat when he saw it. So he was already backing out of the room though, ostensibly to monitor the situation from a safer location.

Jason didn't bother with his gag, he didn't have time. He thrust his left hand out and encased the Wraith in a sphere of energy. His right hand glowed with power and projected a field that quickly expanded and encased his body in a form fitting sheath of magic.

The Wraith was beating against the walls of the sphere trying to escape. It sensed the presence of their enemy and was driven by a need to rip the life from the boy.

Jason squeezed his hand shut and the sphere shrunk, crushing the Wraith. As the sphere had shrunk, the Wraith's body was ripped apart, the crushed bones and organs fell the ground with a splat.

"Fuck." Someone muttered in the control room. More than one person had to turn away to avoid getting sick.

Without the Wraith to deal with, Jason was able to maintain his shield up and moved on to the offensive. Unfortunately, more men were pouring into the room armed with tazers, shotguns, and even some P90s that had been stolen from Atlantis.

Jason decided that any human that would willingly feed someone to the Wraith was a monster themselves. It didn't make his conscience any clearer but it made his decision easier.

Before he could act, he was thrown from his feet by a concentrated volley of fire. The bullets didn't penetrate his shield but it sure hurt like hell.

"Get up Jason. Come on, I know you can do this." John urged quietly.



No one in the control room could look away from the scene taking place before them.

Jason pushed himself up off the floor and remained in a kneeling position. His shield exploded outward. A wall of blue-green magic slammed into every soldier in the room throwing them against a wall or to the floor before snapping back to surround Jason once again.

The move wouldn't stop any of them but Jason just needed a minute. While the soldiers struggled to their feet, Jason worked on putting together a little show.

Just as the soldiers were resuming their attack, the chair in the center of the room was swallowed up by a swirling black disk that appeared on the floor.

"What is he doing?" Rodney asked John.

"I have no idea. " John answered honestly.

From out of the hole a long sinuous body emerged. At first people thought it was a snake but someone recognized the bearded head and the small clawed limbs. The thing was massive, easily 15 feet long and it's body was thicker than three men.

"It's a dragon! Is it real?"

"It must be a trick. Dragons don't exist." Rodney protested. Then he spotted something. "Look!" Rodney pointed at the screen. Everyone could see Jason leave the room while the Genii were distracted by the dragon.

Jason was satisfied that the soldiers would not be bothering him again. Now he just needed to find the others.

It seemed like Rodney was right too. The soldiers' bullets passed harmlessly through the dragon's body.

"See I told you it was just a …" Rodney's voice trailed off and the blood drained from his face.

The tail lased out and speared one of the hapless soldiers through his chest. The man never even struggled; he simply went limp and slid off lifelessly to the floor. Blood began to pool around his body given further proof to the threat that Jason's 'pet' represented.

"Ok, maybe it's not a trick."

The soldiers back away in fear and confusion. Never had they faced a threat like this, they didn't know what to do.

The dragon roared. It's cry of rage was loud enough to shake the room and cause dust to drift down from the ceiling.

"Wait, where did Jason go…" John trailed off when the dragon opened its horrific maw again but instead of an ear splitting roar, a torrent of flame poured out.



Just before the camera was destroyed, John and the others heard the screams of the soldiers as they quickly burned to death.

There was silence for a moment when everything went black on the screen and the stargate disconnected. Everyone was trying to reconcile the friendly, outgoing 18 year old they were used to seeing around Atlantis with the person who had just slaughtered a considerable number of Genii soldiers.

Ronon was the first to break the silence. "He still drops his left shoulder. I guess this means more training sessions."

The comment was so blasé that it broke everyone from their stupor. John in particular wanted to hug the man. Rather than make a big deal or freak out about what Jason could do, Ronon just ignored it and assumed that they would be getting him and the others back.

The muttering was getting louder in the control room. People were truly astounded by what they had just seen.

Not long after the stargate disengaged and while John and the others were still trying to figure out where the prison was located, someone else dialed into Atlantis.

Like last time, there was a grainy video image sent along with the radio signal.

"Atlantis, this is Ladon Radim of the Genii. I have information for you. Please respond."

John, Rodney, and Elizabeth all recognized Ladon as being a member of the strike team that had tried to take Atlantis during the storm when the city had been evacuated.

John shrugged his shoulders before taking the lead and responding.

"This is Colonel Sheppard, what information do you have and why should we trust you?"

Ladon never took his eyes off the camera. "Colonel I know you have no reason to trust me but there are many in the government that do not agree with Commander Kolya's decision to take your people prisoner. Until now we had been unable to obtain the coordinates of the prison where your people are being held."

"What changed?" John knew what changed of course. Kolya got a lot more than he expected with Jason.

"The Commander sent a request for reinforcements. I am transmitting the coordinates now. I ask only that in the future your people consider once again opening a dialogue with the Genii."

Chuck nodded to John that they had received the coordinates.

Elizabeth, the more politically savvy of the two stated "You're overthrowing his government aren't you?"



Again, Ladon never attempted to hide anything. He simply nodded and confirmed Elizabeth's suspicion. "Yes, I believe that together we can become a strong front against the Wraith. The Commander did not agree with me and sought only to steal your technology at any cost."

"If this is a trick…" John didn't bother t finish the threat. Everyone present knew what Atlantis was capable and the kind of hell they could bring down on the Genii if they so desired.

"It is no trick. Needless to say, Commander Kolya will not be receiving any reinforcements from us. I suggest you move quickly though, there is no guarantee that he will remain on the planet or leave your people alive."

There was very little to be said after that. Elizabeth told him that she would consider opening a dialogue with his people if the intelligence proved to be accurate but regardless his government must be stable before anything could begin.

As soon as the wormhole shutdown, John was organizing teams into two jumpers. The jumpers were extra insurance in case this was a trap. The Genii didn't have anything, aside from their atomic weapons, that could damage a jumper. Ladon had to have known this so he was hoping the man was not lying to them.

Elizabeth said "Be careful." Then the jumpers shot through the stargate.

**November 27****th****, Genii Prison world, Pegasus Galaxy**

Just after leaving the room, Jason placed his left hand against the wall.

At first it seemed like nothing was happening and then the concrete wall rippled like water. Great drops of concrete rolled off the wall and pooled on the floor.

His eyes blazed and the puddle of concrete reached out and formed a new wall blocking off the doorway. It wasn't particularly strong, but it should be enough to delay anyone that came after him once his little dragon had dissipated.

Satisfied that he was reasonably safe, he took off running down the corridor. He was running back in the general direction that he had been brought from and calling out for Teyla and Ford. At this point, he didn't care if he alerted more guards; he just wanted to find his friends and associates.

His yelling did more than alert the remaining guards, it told them exactly where he was. The 4 men set up position just in front of the cells holding Ford's team and the rest of the scientists while the last two circled around to approach from the rear. Parker had been relocated after Jason had been taken away.

Jason came barreling around the corner and skidded to a halt when he saw the four soldiers. What brought him up short and made his eyes literally blaze in anger was the sight of Ford and Teyla on their knees facing him with guns to their heads.

"If you do anything, these two die." One of the soldiers said. They'd received garbled orders from Kolya to stop the boy. They didn't know what had happened but somehow, the kid had smuggled something on him into the prison and used it to escape.



Two gunshots echoed off the walls.

Jason grunted in pain and dropped to one knee. Yeah, he needed to work on this shield thing. He was sure something had just broken even if the bullets couldn't penetrate his armor.

"Jason!" Teyla called out in worry.

The soldier sneered "Not so tough now are you kid." It was the last thing he ever said.

Teyla and Aiden shared a look before lashing out. Their distraction was all the Jason needed.

Even though he was tired, Jason struck with great precision and power. A sign of Jason's fatigue was the direct and brutal nature of his response. His attack was simple.

From his position on the floor, Jason sent magic coursing through the concrete floor. As with the wall previously, the floor underneath the four men in front of him liquefied and swirled up their legs. Before the men could even move or scream their bodies were encased in thin sheath of concrete. As quickly as it liquefied under the force of his magic, the concrete once more retuned to a solid state leaving four perfectly sculpted statues.

The 2 men behind Jason opened fire again. Aiden and Teyla dove out of the way unable to do anything more than dodge.

Already on his knees, Jason's back to the brunt of the attack. He felt like he'd been kicked by a horse.

Spinning around as fast he could, Jason swung his hand out with him sending out a scythe of magic as he spun. The razor sharp wave sheared through the concrete walls and the legs of the final two soldiers with equal ease. Both men screamed in pain as they collapsed to the floor, blood pumping out freely from the severed limbs.

Jason sent out one last wave of power ending the men's pain.

Teyla was the first to reach Jason's side.

"Jason are you hurt?" She looked over her young friend examining him for injuries. She was relieved to find nothing visible but he had moved as if he was in pain so perhaps his injuries were internal.

Jason didn't move from his crouched position on the floor. He was pretty sure had a couple of cracked ribs, every breath sent little jolts of pain shooting across his chest.

Aiden made his way over. For the time being, he put what he'd just seen in the back of his mind, they still needed to find a way out of this place. "Jason can you open the cells? I think the keys are…um…well they were on the men that you…" He trailed off not really sure how to describe what Jason had done.

Jason nodded tiredly. His eyes glowed faintly and the locks on the cells glowed at the same time before there was an audible click.



Teyla helped Jason to stand and quickly grew concerned when Jason paled slightly and gasped. She recognized the way he was holding his side and was certain that he had at least cracked one of his ribs somewhere in his battle.

"Jason there is nothing I can do for you. They have taken all of our supplies. Can you use your magic?" Teyla described the type of bandage that would help relieve some of his pain and make it easier for him to move around until they could get back to Atlantis.

With Teyla's help, Jason changed his armor to be more like a compression bandage wrapping his chest tightly. At least with the soldiers gone, he didn't need to maintain the rest of his shield.

Ford and Teyla grabbed the weapons and radios of the two soldiers that were on the floor. It wasn't much but it gave them some measure of protection beyond Jason's magic.

--

At the same time that Ford began to lead Jason and the others in an effort to find a way out of the prison, the Stargate flared to life. The handful of guards was unprepared for the two jumpers that came soaring through the gate rather than the reinforcements they had been expecting.

A drone, giving off a golden glow and a dangerous whine shot with surgical precision into the midst of the guards. When the smoke cleared there was a small crater in the ground near the stargate surrounded by the remains of the Genii guards.

The jumpers hadn't even waited to see the results of the attack. They simply flew onward. Their sensors had picked up the subcutaneous transmitters that every expedition member had been implanted with.

The flight took only a few minutes but to John it felt like hours. He swore to himself that he was never letting Jason out of his sight again. His brother seemed to attract more trouble than he did. From the growls that he had heard from Ronon, he doubted the man would be disagreeing with him.

"Where is it Rodney? I don't see anything." John asked. All that was visible was forest but if the sensors were to be believed, they were almost on top of the prison facility.

"I don't…it's underground." He said suddenly. "That's the only explanation."

"Are you picking up any other life signs?" John asked again after radioing the information to the second jumper.

"There are only a handful of Genii left. They all seem to be moving away from our people. I think you brother gave them a bit of a scare."

None of the people in the jumper felt any sympathy for the Genii. The Genii had kidnapped their people and allowed a Wraith to feed from one of them. Quite simply, they deserved whatever punishment Jason had dished out.

"There is a clearing over there big enough for both jumpers. I'm taking us in. Everyone get ready to move out."



The two jumpers landed gracefully on the forest floor. The soft whine from their engines faded and the rear hatches dropped open. Marines poured out of the rear of the jumpers and spread out looking for any threats that may have been missed by the sensors.

John, Rodney and Ronon followed and quickly took the lead.

A small contingent was left behind to guard the two jumpers with the remaining 6 men following.

It didn't take long for Ronon to find a hatch leading to the underground facility. In his years on the run, he'd honed his tracker skills. Not that he needed those skills; the Genii had not taken any effort to hide their tracks to and from the prison.

"Rodney, are you picking up anything?" Before they entered the prison John wanted to have an idea of what they would be facing.

The hand held life signs detector was glowing faintly in Rodney's hand. "Just our people, the signal hasn't changed."

"There must be another way out of here." John mused, the remaining Genii had run. Given what he had seen Jason do to them, he wasn't surprised.

"Ok, let's do this. Ronon and I are on point. Carson and Rodney you're in the middle. Markham I want you and the marines to cover our back. Leave a pair of men here at the entrance just in case."

Carson and Rodney were the only two in the group that might have argued or asked a question but John as thankful that for once both men remained silent and followed his instructions. He was walking the razor's edge at the moment, John knew that. The more he could remain focused on the rescue the better.

John was first down the ladder, followed by Ronon and then the rest of the group. Once everyone was down, Rodney pointed them in the direction of their people.

--

"I…I need to rest a minute." Jason gasped out.

Between the amount of magic he used and his injuries, he was finding it harder and harder to keep up. It hurt just to breathe; his ribs sent jolts of pain shoot all over his chest every time he took a breath.

Ford was undecided. He was worried about Jason, his injuries could be worse than they thought but they had no way of knowing if there were more Genii. Worse yet, they only had two weapons between them, along with Jason's magic of course.

Teyla could see that Ford was unsure of what to do. She understood his position but thought it would be best to rest. Even injured Jason could be quite dangerous but if they ran into more Genii but he would not be any help if he was too weak.

"I think it would be good for everyone to rest for a few minutes before we move on."



Ford knew what Teyla was doing. He appreciated that she was being somewhat subtle about giving him advice. He was still getting used to leading his own team especially when the other members, including Teyla were all older than he was.

"Ok, we rest for 10 minutes but then we have to press on."

Jason nodded his head in thanks and slid down the wall to rest on the floor. It helped not having to support his whole body but it didn't make breathing any less painful.

After resting, Ford helped Jason to his feet and they were on the move again. Barely 20 minutes had passed before Jason needed to rest. He was pale and his heart was racing. Breathing was getting more difficult too; it felt like something was pressing down on his chest.

"I'm worried about Jason." Teyla said softly to Ford. Ostensibly, there were on the lookout for more Genii but it also gave them a chance to talk privately.

"I know he might have internal bleeding. I've seen it with guys wearing bullet proof vests. If the weapon isn't strong enough to penetrate sometimes the impact itself can still do damage. There was a guy in my basic group…"

He shut up when they heard footsteps.

"Ford?" The voice carried softly from around the corner.

Both Ford and Teyla sighed in relief.

"Colonel we thought you more Genii."

John and Ronon came around the corner followed by Rodney, Carson and the marines.

None of the scientists moved, they were too exhausted by their ordeal. They were just relieved that it was almost over.

When Teyla saw Carson she spoke up before either Ford or John could do anything else.

"Dr. Beckett, Jason has been injured; I think you should examine him."

Carson nodded and swung his backpack off his shoulders. He scanned everyone for a moment to find Jason and quickly moved to his side.

John wanted to check on his brother, even from here he could tell he was hurt but he had a job to do. "Is anyone else hurt?"

"No, but Dr. Murphy is missing." Ford reported.

"Murphy's dead, Kolya let a Wraith feed on him."

Ford filled John in on what happened back on the planet and since their escape.

"Carson, can we move Jason?"

"Aye, I don't think he has any internal bleeding but we need to get him back to Atlantis so I can treat him properly."

John had two of the marines rig up a field stretcher so they could carry Jason out.

**November 27****th****, Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

Elizabeth listened to John report on the rescue. There'd been no sign of the Genii by any of John's men. They were already planning on sending back a team to see if they can find any trace of Kolya. John figured it would've been too easy to have him die, even if it was at his brother's hands.

"John, I think Jason should speak with Dr. Heightmeyer once Carson releases him."

"I've already made an appointment for him. After what happened in England I wanted him to talk to her too."

Elizabeth sat quietly for a minute. "John when Jason is better we are going to need him to get us back into these labs. It's just a matter of time until the Wraith find us and we need to be ready."

"I know, I don't like it but I know."

"How is he?"

"He'll be fine. Carson said he had three broken ribs and two cracked ribs. He'll be out of the infirmary in a couple of days."


	22. Life Goes On

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

**A/N: Slight Spoilers for 03x07 Common Ground and 03x05 Progeny**

**A/N 2: 4 weeks traveling for work does not do much for motivation, let me tell you.**

**Chapter 22: Life Goes On**

**November 27****th****, Genii Prison Planet, Pegasus Galaxy**

An eerie silence had fallen over the prison after the departure of John and his men. The surviving Genii had escaped through a secondary exit leaving their remaining prisoners to fend for themselves.

When Commander Kolya failed to receive word from the reinforcements he had ordered through the Stargate, he suspected treachery. Ladon had not taken much effort to hide his opinions regarding the Lanteans or Kolya's plans for obtaining their technology. Now it was obvious that with the disaster brought about by Sheppard's brother, Ladon had seen his chance to take the reins of leadership.

The Commander remembered well the effectiveness of the Lantean technology in pinpointing his men during his failed assault on the city. When things turned against him, he ordered his people to fall back to a hidden safe house miles from the prison. It was his hope that they would be outside of the range of the Lantean sensors and if they weren't hopefully they would be ignored since they could pose no immediate threat.

Three times now he had failed to achieve his goals where the Lanteans were involved. Three times he had been humiliated and lost valuable men to their cowardly attacks. Three times his defeats could be laid at the feet of a member of the Sheppard family. Even had he received his reinforcements he wasn't convinced that they would have changed the outcome. Jason Sheppard would be made to pay for the insult to him and the Genii people and his brother would be made to pay as well.

For now he would wait, he had neither the resources nor the men to successfully take his revenge on the Sheppard family. For now, he would plan each step. Like a raptor approaching its prey he would take his time and strike with lightning speed when they least suspected it. Enemies the Sheppards may be, but they had proven themselves to be formidable opponents and for that alone, Acastus Kolya felt a sliver of respect. That respect would not save them in the end, of that he was sure.

--

Deeper in the prison there was a single captive remaining. He had listened to noises of battle and the screams of the Genii soldiers with great relish. For years he had been a prisoner, never able to look at the night sky, always with the hunger burning in his body.

He recognized that the humans had reason to hate his people, just as he was sure that all prey must ultimately hate the predator. For millennia, humans had been at the apex of the food chain until his people arose and took their place in the stars as a power to be reckoned with. Understanding that hate didn't lessen his own distaste for the particular humans that had held him captive, his only crime against them was to survive.

Without him, his people would've been left to fend for themselves. His position within the Hive was unique; there were Queens that still commanded with absolute authority within their kingdoms of individual Hive ships. He, he provided a voice to connect the Hives together, to allow them to move with one voice and one purpose. He'd been a Wraith Lord. Without him there he could only wonder if the Hives had scattered or been wiped out. Perhaps they had held together, maintained a fragile hold on the territory that had been paid for with the lives of thousands of soldiers.

Now, something had changed. One of his captors had somehow imprisoned a Lantean. He could smell it in the air; the foul stink of their kind permeated the prison. It had been millennia since he'd been faced with a Lantean, his people had driven them from the galaxy, or so he had thought.

But now something else burned inside him worse than the ever present hunger. Knowingly or not, the Lantean had enabled him to escape. The guards had been killed and the battle had weakened the walls of his cage enough to enable him to break free.

A debt, he owed the Lantean a debt. Most of his people were indifferent to the concept of honor outside of anything related to their own race. But he had always tried to set a different example for the Hives that had followed him. It resulted in a far more stable alliance that held together despite the egos and contentious natures of most Hive queens.

It had all changed though. For the first time in years he was free of the bars, free of his captors.

Slowly the Wraith non-descript save for his star-shaped tattoo surrounding his left eye, made his way out of the prison cell and through the deserted corridors. Too much time had passed for him to remember the way out clearly but whatever the Lantean had done had caused his captors to flee.

Eventually, he was able to find his way to the hatch leading back up to the forest. While he followed the tracks laid down over long years of use towards what he hoped was the Stargate, the Wraith pondered what he saw within the aging structure.

The corridors had been devoid of life. It wasn't the lack of guards that was disturbing; it was the remains of those guards.

One room had suffered through some sort of inferno leaving the walls and ceiling scorched black. Scattered about on the floor were the charred remains of nearly a dozen bodies. Even if the perpetrator was a Lantean, the Wraith felt a smug sense of satisfaction at seeing his captors dealt with in such a manner.

The second site of violence had 4 incredibly lifelike statues and the remains of two guards missing their legs. It was a pity that there were none left for him to feed on.

As he crested a hill, the large metallic ring of the Stargate came into view. All he could do for now was to return to one of his planets and restore his position. The debt to the Lantean could wait. After all it would be difficult to repay if he wasn't able to gather his forces around him once again.

**November 27****th****, Stargate Command, Cheyenne Mountain, CO**

James didn't know what he was doing in a US military facility. Since Daniel Jackson and Teal'c showed up on his door step 4 days ago, his life had been a whirlwind of change. Within an hour of their arrival, he and Thomas had packed up their essential items and prepared to leave the UK. Sirius had shrugged his shoulders when asked if he had anything and simply said there wasn't anything he couldn't buy again in the states.



It didn't surprise James to see Sirius' blasé attitude regarding the sudden arrival of their rescuers so it was more than a little amusing to see his friend's expression change when they were beamed aboard the Prometheus.

Over the years since reuniting with Jason, James had become accustomed to some of the advances that the muggles had made in technology. Sirius on the other hand, despite having lived in muggle London, never really explored the changes that had taken place around the wizarding world.

For a long moment Sirius just stared blankly out the large window at the front of the bridge. The Earth was rotating serenely beneath the ship.

James laughed out loud when his friend's head snapped over to stare at James in shock before whipping back to look out the window one more time.

Then Sirius shocked his friend. His eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed to the floor in a faint.

Now James was sitting in a nicely appointed conference room with the US flag adorning one wall and a large oak conference table surrounded by black leather chairs. One wall of the room was dominated by window that ran almost the entire length of the room but it was blocked by a steel bulkhead or barrier of some sort. He assumed that the bulkhead was moveable otherwise why have a window there unless the bulkhead was added later as a security measure.

After receiving word that General O'Neill wanted to speak with him, James had come to the mountain as quickly as possible. He knew that the General had played a large role in getting him and his family out of the war zone and established safely in the United States.

He'd been waiting for only 5 minutes when the door opened at the end of the room and General Jack O'Neill emerged from what James now guessed to be his office.

Jack walked over and shook James' hand in greeting before sitting down and motioning James to do the same. James took a seat across the table from Jack. He was more than a little nervous, afraid that he and Thomas would be sent back to the UK.

"General I don't know what I'm doing here but I need to thank you for arranging for my family and me to get out of the UK. I'd…" James frowned when Jack cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"There's no need Mr. Potter, the service that Colonel Sheppard and Jason Sheppard are providing for this country and the world deserves more than a little consideration. And that is why I wanted to speak with you today."

James immediately sat straighter in his chair, concern radiating from him this time it was for Jason. "Nothing has happened to Jason or John has it?"

It was one of the many things that kept him awake at night, fearing that one day an officer would knock at his door with news of Jason and to a lesser extent John. Prior to finding Jason he never would have understood the reference but living so near an Air Force base he had seen the news of a family member's death delivered by a somber officer. He knew that it was a concern for Jason that something would someday happen to John but James never thought he would be worrying about the same thing. 

He didn't obsess on it or let it control his life but he was aware of it, especially when there was nothing else to distract him.

"No both Jason and Colonel Sheppard are fine. I realize that because of the Sheppards you have been privy to information and sights that the majority of the population frankly has no clue about."

James nodded slowly. He wasn't sure where the General was going. He and Thomas both had signed non-disclosure agreements before they were beamed onto the Prometheus. Keeping secrets had long ago become a part of his life both as an Unspeakable and as a member of the Order of the Phoenix.

For a moment he frowned at the thought of Dumbledore. The man had been a hero to him growing up but now he had unwittingly helped to destroy the wizarding world as he knew it in his quest to control Jason and shape him into a figurehead of the light.

Jack watched the brief flurry of emotions that crossed James face while he sipped from his coffee.

"I don't understand, I signed a non-disclosure agreement and we haven't said anything to anyone."

"You misunderstand; I want to offer you a position here at Stargate Command."

James was happy that Jason had only given him the barest details of Atlantis, of course he probably didn't know exactly went on under Cheyenne Mountain anyway. So his surprise and blatant cluelessness were genuine. The last thing he wanted to do was to get Jason in trouble for telling him classified information.

"Stargate Command? Does that have something to do with the Prometheus?"

Jack smiled. "In a way it does but there is so much more out there."

James was taken aback by the almost wistful tone of the General's voice. He never would have suspected the man of being even remotely sentimental.

At some unseen signal from Jack, two members of SG-1 walked into the conference room.

"I believe you've me Dr. Daniel Jackson and Lt Colonel Samantha Carter before. I've asked them here to give you the history of the Stargate program."

For the next three hours James listened in rapt attention. Jack moved in and out of the conference room taking care of other duties while Daniel and Sam continued with their presentation. They had given this presentation many times before to new recruits and they were never disappointed by the excitement, awe, and trepidation displayed.

Learning that muggles had the power to build spaceships capable of traveling to other planets was one thing. Now James was able to understand where Atlantis fit into the whole picture. The idea of being able to step through a Stargate and appear on another world inhabited by people stolen from Earth over the years was staggering. Wizards and witches would never believe that muggle technology was capable of such a feat, even if that technology was left behind by a long dead alien race.



Just hearing of some of the threats posed to Earth by the Goa'uld or the Wraith from the Pegasus galaxy left James chilled to the bone. After seeing some of the science fiction movies that Jason loved so much he'd always imagined something more like Star Trek where countless worlds worked together to build a better society.

Instead he listened as they described a galaxy that was just now recovering from millennia of oppression at the hands of the Goa'uld. Alliances that had been key in helping to undermine their power were now fracturing making the tenuous stability of the galaxy even weaker.

And he learned more than Jason had told him about Atlantis. From Jason he knew of the Wraith and the threat they posed to the Pegasus galaxy but only now did he truly begin to understand the full scope of the threat. The Wraith had been able to overwhelm and defeat one of the most technologically advanced races ever to exist in either galaxy. Yet somehow, Jason may hold the key to their defeat.

James wanted to rage that Jason was 18 years old. He didn't deserve to have the fate of a galaxy thrust onto his shoulders. But he knew that John would not let that happen and he suspected that the men and women of the SGC would not let that happen either. This wasn't the wizarding world where they were more than happy to push someone in front of them to act as a savior. These people were prepared to give their lives to defend the Earth and countless other worlds from the predations of the Goa'uld, the Wraith, and who knew what else.

When Sam and Daniel were finished, Jack gave James a few minutes before he pressed forward with his reason for calling the man in today.

"So what do you think?" Jack had found over the years that some light humor helped to not only break tension but helped people to step back from the edge and get a hold of themselves again. He'd seen enough people overwhelmed by the knowledge of what was out there waiting for them on the other side of the Stargate.

Daniel and Sam, used to Jack's antics, simply rolled their eyes at the almost flippant remark.

James swallowed nervously and swiped his suddenly sweaty hands against his pants. It was almost bizarre that a few hours' worth of information could so drastically change his view of…well of everything he thought. At that moment, he realized that while he believed everything Jason had told him of Atlantis, it just hadn't been real to him before, not beyond the basic threat to Jason. Now though….

"What…" He trailed off and grabbed for his glass of water taking a long drink to try and get rid of the cotton mouth he seemed to have developed. "What would you want me to do? Would I go through the Stargate?"

Honestly, James didn't know whether he should be terrified or thrilled by the idea. There was another part of him that wondered whether he should even be considering anything this risky when Thomas still needed him.

"Eventually that would probably be the case. There is some extensive training that you would need to go through and before I put you on a team I would need to know the best way to incorporate your 'talents'."



Talents were obviously a euphemism for magic. Now that just opened up a whole new can of worms.

"But it is against the law…"

"Since Jason's discovery in your ministry, we have been in negotiations with your American counterparts. We have agreed to try to incorporate some individuals into the SGC. Given what we face out there, any advantage is a welcome one."

"Why me? What would I do until training was complete? What about my son? Would I see Jason and John…I mean Colonel Sheppard?" James started rattling off questions one right after another as soon as the popped into his head.

Jack shared an amused glance with Sam. "Daniel, I think he speaks your language. You know the rapid fire questions too fast for a normal person to respond to."

James abruptly closed his mouth when he realized what he was doing.

"Too bad it was never that easy with Daniel." Jack muttered though he made sure it was loud enough for his friend to hear.

"Hey! I wasn't that…." He stopped when he got glared at by both Sam and Jack. "Ok maybe I was but it saved your ass often enough."

Sam laughed lightly when Daniel wrapped his arms around his chest in a similar fashion to what he did when they had first become a team. Back then it meant he was upset but she could see the little glint in his eye that said he was just planning his revenge.

"You know Daniel; I think I still have some of that special blend of coffee that you love so much. I could see my way towards making an exchange if…" She left the rest unsaid. Everyone in the SGC knew that Daniel loved two things, coffee and chocolate. Sam wasn't above a little bribery to be spared whatever the man was planning for revenge.

Jack realized too late what Sam was doing. "What? Hey no fair!"

Daniel nodded in agreement to Sam and laughed menacingly at Jack's outburst. "Sorry Jack, looks like Sam is safe."

"Shit, I knew I should have left you naked on that planet."

James was lost during the entire exchange. The only thing he was able to pick up was that the three people had a deep bond of friendship.

"Um…that didn't really answer any of my questions." James had a feeling that if he let them, these three could easily get lost on a tangent and never get back to him.

Jack almost looked surprised that there was someone else in the room before he schooled his features once more and got down to business.



"Ok, I am aware of your former position as an Unspeakable. The British government was very helpful in explaining what you did as an investigative agent and the type of field training you went through. Your experience alone is something we can use as we try this thing out."

James could understand the reasoning even if he was surprised that the British government had given over information on his position within the Unspeakables. Even the Minister of Magic typically didn't have access to those records. Apparently, the Queen had changed more than he realized before things had gone to hell.

"Also you obviously can be trusted to keep a secret but to answer your other questions, no you will not be sent to Atlantis for reasons that I won't get into at this time. Before I answer your next question do me a favor and take a look at this."

Jack nodded to Sam who handed over a small rectangular device roughly the size of a deck of cards that was covered in a series of crystals and symbols that James recognized from the Veil of Death in the Department of Mysteries.

James reached out and took the device. As soon as he had it resting in his hand, the device lit up and began to play a strange piece of music. It was unlike anything he'd heard before either in the wizarding or muggle worlds. In surprise, he dropped it onto the table where it continued to play.

Jack grinned in triumph. "I told you!"

"What? What just happened?" James asked after Jack reached over and silenced the strange music box.

"Only someone with what we call the ATA gene could have activated this music box. It was found on Atlantis and it is a much quicker way of determining if someone has the gene than any DNA test."

James put two and two together. "John and Jason have the same gene don't they? How come the Veil didn't work for Thomas then or me? Shouldn't we be able to do the same that Jason can?'

"We've since discovered that there are two gene sequences necessary to run certain pieces of Ancient technology. You and presumable your other son have the same one that Colonel Sheppard does. Jason has both."

"Oh." James slumped a little. For a moment, he hoped that he would be able to take Jason's place and save him the burden.

Jack went on to answer James' remaining questions. Until he was assigned to a team, he would be helping Daniel translate and work with what they had managed to bring back from the Department of Mysteries and a cache of Ancient artifacts that had been found in a locked storeroom within the Ministry building.

When James asked about what he could tell his son, Jack explained that even though he had signed a non-disclosure agreement, that James would need to keep the specifics of his work a secret. In that respect it would be no different than when he was working as an Unspeakable.



It was a little more than halfway through the discussion that James came to the realization that he had already accepted the position mentally if not verbally. How could he turn down the opportunity? Yes it would be dangerous and he would need Sirius' help in keeping an eye on Thomas but he didn't know how he could let John and Jason risk their lives while he stayed at home.

Thomas, that was the only stumbling block for James throughout the entire conversation. Besides the fact that he had no doubt that Sirius would help out as necessary, Thomas was 18. Legally he was an adult in both worlds. That didn't mean that James wanted to leave him as an orphan but Thomas would be going to school again in the coming year and would be away from home for close to 10 months at a time.

He would need something to do. James wasn't the type of man that could sit around doing nothing even if he didn't need the money.

"I'll do it. Have you thought about my old partner Sirius Black? He has almost the same background that I do."

Jack and the others were not surprised by the strong or quick answer. The program seemed to grab people regardless of their situations and backgrounds.

Jack practically beamed at him. "Excellent. As it so happens, we have the pile, and I do mean pile, of paperwork for you to sign right here."

Daniel took the opportunity to slide a manila folder across the table to James. It was perhaps an inch thick and filled with page upon page requiring his signature.

"You seem pretty confident that I would accept." James said blandly while scanning the first page.

"Let's just say that there have been very few people that have ever turned us down."

"But what about Sirius?"

"This is still a pilot program. He is on the short list for future candidates but in the interest of international cooperation we are only taking one person from the US, Canada, UK, France, China, and Russia."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense. Do I really have to sign all of this?" James asked plaintively.

He had a sinking feeling when all three laughed. "Welcome to the SGC."

**December 4****th****, Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

"Colonel!"

John stopped and waited for the owner of the feminine voice with a smirk on his face after recognizing the voice.

Once Teyla had caught up to him John turned and smiled at her.



"Haven't we had this discussion before? It is really weird to hear the woman I'm dating calling me by my rank." There was a smile in his voice to go along with the mischievous smile on his face.

Teyla just rolled her eyes but she didn't fight her own smile. She deliberately turned her head to scan the hallway looking to see if they were alone.

"I believe that we agreed I would call you…" She paused for a second "_John_ when we were in private. I do not believe that a hallway constitutes a private location."

John laughed and threw his arm around her should pulling her against him momentarily. When she turned her head to protest in jest John leaned down and kissed her softly first.

"Mmm…" John moaned softly before breaking away again. "Consider that your punishment, an empty hallway is private enough for you to use my name."

"I do not know. What if someone were to come along while I was doing this?" This time Teyla wrapped her arms and pulled John down to meet her once again.

When the pair finally broke for air John's face was flushed lightly. Teyla laughed at him.

"As nice as that was, _John_ I actually was hoping to find out how Jason has been doing." Teyla had grown close to Jason and twice now he had saved her life. She had stopped by the infirmary when they returned to Atlantis but then she had to leave on another mission with her team. They had been gone for several days and this was her first chance since returning to check up on him.

"I was just on my way down to pick him up. Carson is finally releasing him. Personally, I'm not sure whether it is because Jason is ready or because he's driving Carson insane. My brother is easily bored and…"

Teyla cut him off with another laugh. "Obviously it runs in the family. I seem to remember more than a few times when a certain Colonel attempted to escape from the infirmary."

John refused to acknowledge the laugh but he did lift his head in a haughty manner. "That is entirely different. I have responsibilities that can't be ignored just because I'm in the infirmary."

Teyla just shook her head fondly and they finished the journey to the infirmary.

They had barely entered the infirmary when Jason caught sight of them.

"Teyla, John oh thank god. Please tell me that you are here to get me out of this place." Jason then deliberately raised his voice to make sure no one would miss what he said next. "I think Carson worked for the Gestapo or something because…"

"What was that Jason?" Carson asked appearing next to John and Teyla. "Perhaps it would be better to keep you hear for another couple of days some of these test results are a little questionable."



Carson calmly hung his stethoscope around his neck while he moved towards Jason's bed to give the young man a final checkup. In truth, he was almost as eager for Jason to get out of the infirmary as Jason was. The lad was almost as bad a patient as his brother.

"No, no that's not necessary. I was just kidding; you're really a wonderful doctor. I don't think I've ever had…"

"That's enough Jason, I think Carson get's the point." John laughed at his brother's backpedaling. It was refreshing to see the shoe on the other foot. Usually it was him that was doing whatever he could to get away from Carson's grasp.

Jason sat quietly on the bed. He made no objections to any of Carson's checkup and listed attentively to everything the man had to say. Jason also knew that without a doubt John was listening as well and would make sure that every order was followed.

"Well, I must say that you heal remarkably quickly. You can probably thank your Ancient genes for that. Still, I don't want you doing anything more than light exercise and that definitely does not include sparring with Ronon for the next week. Speedy healing or not, you still need time to fully recuperate. I also expect you to come back here in two days for a follow-up."

Jason protested. "But I feel…"

John cut him off almost immediately. "Don't worry Carson, I'll make sure he's here and follows your instructions."

Jason had a sinking feeling that John would be doing just that. Maybe Teyla would help him out; she did owe him after all. Not that he would ever use it against her but he knew from his talks with the Athosian woman that she considered herself in debt to Jason for saving her life. Now she probably considered it two debts after the escape from the Genii prison.

Carson looked at John a little doubtfully.

"Do not worry Dr. Beckett, I will ensure that Jason does as you have instructed." Teyla assured the kind man. Like most of the members of the expedition, Teyla had quickly developed a great affection and respect for the physician.

Carson nodded at Teyla's reassurance. He finished jotting down a few notes on Jason's conditions before releasing him from the infirmary. He chuckled at the sight of Jason practically running from his infirmary.

John and Teyla caught up to him just outside of the infirmary.

"Are you ready to get some real food?"

Jason just nodded eagerly to his brother. "Teyla you coming?"

"Of course. I need to make sure that you eat a balanced meal or I will have to answer to Dr. Beckett."



Jason felt a little bad about putting Teyla in that position. Still, it wouldn't last long and soon the three of them are sitting at a table in the cafeteria with trays of food sitting in front of them.

"No dessert unless you finish up everything."

"John, I'm 18 years old. I don't need your permission to have dessert."

John shoveled another forkful of potatoes into his mouth and stared intently at Jason.

Jason held up under the stare for a few seconds before dropping his eyes to his tray and picking at his food again. He pointedly ignored John's not so subtle triumphant laugh.

"Hey I owe you for all the guilt trips you laid on me for not following Carson's orders." John explained himself. It was definitely time for him to get a little revenge.

Jason dropped his fork and leaned back with a sinking feeling. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Teyla watched the back and forth between John and Jason with great amusement. It always made her happy to see the bond between the two brothers remain so strong despite the stress and demands placed on both of them.

"Oh I think you do. You should really try to be a little more subtle next time you go for the guilt trip. I really hope that Carson made it worth your while."

"But…but…what…why?" Jason couldn't even think coherently. His eyes were darting left and right while he debated mentally whether he should just make a run for it. That plan had its own problems though because John would catch up to him but it was possible that he could delay whatever John was planning now.

Teyla looked at John with great interest. It was a very good question because if he knew what his brother had been doing than why did he follow Carson's orders which were quite unusual for him. As she got to know John and Jason better she came to enjoy these types of conversations more and more, they were often quite entertaining and John was relaxed in a way with Jason that was unique.

John looked embarrassed for a moment before smiling in a rather disturbing fashion.

"Just because I knew what you were doing doesn't make it any less effective. But oh Jason, you know what they say don't you?"

"No?" Jason decided right than that discretion was the better part of valor. He just had to decide when to make his move.

"Vengeance is sweet."

Jason didn't like the smirk that spread across John's features. A quick glance towards Teyla told him that she was as in the dark about John's plans as he was. At least he knew that John hadn't recruited anyone to help him.



'Crap!' Jason thought. Running isn't going to do me any good, I'm stuck in Atlantis. Wait, they were sitting here in the cafeteria with lots of people around. Maybe it was time to play the sympathy card, but how was the question. People wouldn't buy it coming from an 18 year old so he had to take a different approach. Yes, he thought, this could work. He almost pitied John; his brother wouldn't know what hit him.

John looked at Jason in triumph. At the same time, Jason seemed to shrink back into himself at John's pronouncement. John had just turned to smile at Teyla when he saw he eyes widen and she gasped.

Whipping his head back around, he was completely unprepared for what he saw. Jason looked exactly like he did when he was 7 years old. His eyes seemed larger like you see on children sometimes but even though he knew it was probably an illusion; it didn't stop the pang in his heart from seeing his brother so young and innocent again.

"Jason?"

People sitting at the surrounding tables had stopped to look at the spectacle. Rumor had quickly spread of what Jason had done to the Genii and now somehow he had managed to reverse his age by some 10 years.

A few of the woman were muttering to themselves about how cute he was but mainly everyone was staring with unabashed curiosity.

Jason let his lower lip quiver and with practiced ease managed to work up some fake tears. In a shaky voice that was soft but still somehow managed to carry to everyone nearby.

"But John…" His voice waivered slightly. "If something happened to you, I would be all alone. You're all I have left from our family." A single tear ran down his cheek. What he said was only partially true, yes he would still have James and Thomas but he would never be as close to them as he was to John.

John stared with his mouth hanging open. Jason had lowered his head and his body shook slightly. John knew it was a trick but he felt like a first class jerk anyway.

"Jason…"

"Please John." Jason pleaded in the high pitched voice characteristic of a seven year old. "I just wanted to keep you safe the way you always did for me. Was it really so bad?"

"Well no but…"

Jason knew he'd won. With his head down, it had been easy to see the other expedition members glaring at John for being mean to him. It had taken everything in him to keep from laughing; he only hoped people thought he was trying to hide his tears.

"What would mom and dad think if something happened to you because…" It was a low blow but Jason didn't want to pull any punches. Despite everything, there would be payback from John but hopefully it could be tempered a little.

"Ok, ok Jason I'm sorry. I should've been willing to listen to Carson without you guilting me into it."

Jason looked up again, his eyes wide with hope. "So you forgive me?"

John sighed and rubbed his face. "Yes, I forgive you."

Teyla had recovered from her shock. She had watched the entire exchange with great amusement. Jason truly had a masterful way of dealing with his older brother. John's antics with Carson had caused no small amount of concern and consternation from his team and this may be her opportunity to get a little of her own revenge.

"Colonel, I believe it is you who owe Jason an apology. Are you not the elder? He should not have to remind you of your responsibilities." Teyla chided him gently but sternly.

John shot her a look clearly calling her a traitor but he nodded none the less.

"Fine, I'm sorry Jason. I should've listened to Carson."

"So…" Jason hitched a breath dramatically. "So were ok? You're not mad?"

John sighed again. He knew when he was beaten. If he did anything now, judging by the looks on everyone's faces he would be lynched in his sleep.

"Yes we're ok."

In a flash of light, seven year old Jason was gone, replaced once again by the grinning handsome 18 year old young man. "Good, I was getting tired of making my voice squeaky."

Everyone around the table chuckled softly and conversation began once again.

"Was that really necessary?" John asked sourly.

"Yes." Jason said with a large smile. "You should know by now that younger brothers always come out on top."

Teyla laughed softly but stifled it when John looked her way.

He may not be able to get revenge for the guilt trips but that didn't mean that he couldn't get back at Jason in other ways. Especially if the methods he chose were perfectly reasonable. First he had to wipe that annoying smile off of Jason's face.

"Oh by the way, you know the Daedelus was here."

"Yeah I figured, there were a bunch of people I didn't recognize getting checked out by Carson." Jason replied after take a drink of water.



John smiled again. No one could blame him for enjoying this moment. "Well, I am pleased to tell you that your first classes begin tomorrow at 10am. The equipment has been setup in a lab off the infirmary so Carson can check your vitals to make sure nothing goes wrong."

"But…" Jason tried to protest.

"You knew this was going to happen. It's for your own good. I would think after your little show here a minute ago that I wouldn't have to argue about this with you."

It was Jason's turn to sigh in defeat. His only defense would be that John was older and should've known better. This sucked, he had to be mature.

"Whatever!" Jason stood and grabbed his tray. "I'm going back to my room to take a nap."

Before Jason could leave, John threw out one more curveball. "Oh and because I don't want to see you get hurt again, I've scheduled some more training sessions for you with Ronon. He says you're still dropping your left shoulder."

Jason didn't even say anything. His shoulders just slumped in defeat as he slinked away.

**December 7****th****, Wraith Hive Ship, Pegasus Galaxy**

Things were at a stalemate with the other Wraith Lords. There had been small incursions into his territory but so far he'd been able to turn back the attacks with a minimum of losses on his side. But, Shezz'la knew that it was only a matter of time before there was a concerted attack. The different Wraith factions were beginning to turn on each other in the search for more human cattle to feed on.

However, this is not what concerned him. He recently received word from agents within his worshippers that his old rival had appeared once again. Even in his rival's absence, the territory he held remained strong and almost impenetrable. Shezz'la had only attempted one foray that was soundly defeated before he retreated back to his own sphere of influence to plan for the future.

What he needed was an advantage. He had hopes that one of his cruisers would soon have something to report. They had managed to find the ruins of a Lantean research outpost. Somehow portions of the computer core had survived more than 10,000 years.

Scientists had been dispatched immediately to see what if anything could be recovered from the damaged equipment. Along with them they brought something that would hurt the Lanteans. Once the data had been retrieved the scientists had been instructed to leave behind a virus that would only be activated if someone attempted to use the Lantean command chair.

It was unfortunate that he would not be around to witness the results, they would no doubt leave quite an impression on whoever sat in that chair.

Shezz'la was broken from his thoughts by a persistent beeping.

"What?" He asked irritably over the communication line that he'd just opened.

"You scientists have managed to restore portions of the computer core. "

Shezz'la felt a thrill of excitement shoot through him. This was it. It was the advantage that he'd been searching for.

"What is their report?"

"The Lanteans outpost predates the war. It was used to research defensive shields. Much of the data has been corrupted over time but they report that many of the preliminary tests and results were salvageable."

Shields were one of the main reasons the Lantean had been able to hold off the Wraith advances for so long. Shields and drones had been the main advantages over the Wraith militarily. With this research, he could equip his ships with shields as well. Even if the shields were weaker than those on the Lantean ships it would still give his forces an incredible advantage over the other Wraith.

There was still an unknown factor. Time, if it took too long to incorporate the shield technology into his fleet than it would do him no good. Well, he had ways of ensuring that the scientists were adequately motivated. After all, if the shield technology could be made operational he would no longer need to bother with the Lanteans or their city.

**January 14****th****, Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

John watched with slight interest as the wormhole was established.

"What's so special about this planet?"

Rodney looked up from the laptop he was working at. "M7R-227, it's listed in the Ancient database as being home to a research outpost and more importantly it was also a rich source of neutronium."

"Drones?" John asked eagerly. The neutronium was the only resource they still needed before they could bring the drone manufacturing facility on line.

Rodney rolled his eyes. "Yes drones but if there is enough we could also use it to create new alloys and perhaps strengthen the hulls of the Daedelus and the Prometheus."

Elizabeth had joined them and smiled at the banter. "Send the MALP through Rodney."

The scientist grunted and input the commands. Down near the Stargate, the robotic probe began to roll forward and into the wormhole.

Elizabeth was the first to react to the video feed. There were several people examining the camera of the MALP using the handheld scanners that the Atlantis expedition had become so familiar with.

"Oh my god, Ancients?"


	23. Diplomatic Breakdown

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

**A/N: My humble apologies for the incredible lateness of this chapter. And please pay attention to the times/locations or the chapter will make no sense.**

**Chapter 23: Diplomatic Breakdown**

**January 15****th****, 1:45AM Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

The city groaned and shook as the shields absorbed another volley of fire. Fiery orange yellow explosions were intermixed with bursts of emerald green fire from the directed plasma beams dotted the domed shield protecting Atlantis.

Major Lorne asked from his position in one the chairs of the control room. "What's the status of the shields?"

Zalenka looked over the displays with numbers quickly spiraling up the screen. "Shields are still holding the ZPMs are only showing a minor power loss."

The city rumbled and protested setting off alarms in the control room as Jason sent it spiraling through space to avoid the next volley of fire. At the same time, the majestic city rotated bringing its own weapons to bear.

Brilliant emerald beams of supercharged plasma lanced across the void of space and impacted against underside of the enemy vessel, a city ship virtually identical to Atlantis. Ripples shot across the glowing shield from the points of impact. Earlier Zalenka had noticed that the energy emissions from the star drive seemed to weaken the shields in that area so he recommended that Jason focus his attacks there when possible

In the chair room, Jason was sweating from exertion. The battle was beginning to take its toll on him. Desperate to bring down the enemy's shields, he added the point defense weapons' fire to the mix. Though much weaker, the smaller plasma bolts began to pepper the dome of energy blocking the enemy city from sight with waves of glowing green energy as he swung the city over the enemy making sure to keep Atlantis' star drive out of the line of fire.

"Damn it!" Jason swore. He broke of the attack and sent the city into another corkscrew maneuver.

The massive snowflake shaped city rolled over swooping underneath the other city narrowly avoiding the energy weapons and a swarm of drones.

In the control room the alarms continued to blare and screens were flashing with increasingly dire messages.

"Zalenka what's going on?"

The Czech scientist never looked up from his console. "Major the shields are holding but the city wasn't designed to be flown like this. The inertial dampeners are nearing maximum output and we have already suffered some structural damage to the outer piers."



'Fuck!' though Lorne. He knew Sheppard's brother was doing everything he could but the other city had the same weapons and defenses plus they apparently had no shortage of drones. "What about the jumpers? Can we use their drones?"

"I don't think so. Even if we could transfer them to the city's launch silos in time there are simply not enough of them to make a difference."

"So you're saying it is up to 18yr old to save our lives?" Lorne asked incredulously. Sure Jason was doing a good job of controlling the city but it just didn't sit right with him to put all the responsibility on the kid's shoulders.

Zalenka looked up with a long expression. "I'm sorry major but unless we can find some other way to bring their shields down…"

**January 14****th****, 9:45AM Planet M7R227, Pegasus Galaxy**

"And why are you here again?" Asked John curiously. After all, it wasn't exactly normal for Elizabeth to come with them on away missions, especially to planets that they had never visited before.

"Ancients or not, they are clearly an advanced race and I want to open diplomatic relations with them immediately."

Nothing else was said before everyone stepped through the Stargate.

"Did something go wrong? We are back in the gate room." John asked after stepping through the Stargate, his voice carrying a slight tone of confusion even as he surveyed the room for threats.

Elizabeth turned around to look back at the Stargate after it had shut down. That was when she realized the difference. "Oh my god!"

John and the others turned around as well with their weapons at the ready. "Ok, so maybe we aren't in Atlantis."

Spreading out behind the Stargate was a long, broad corridor that stretched on farther than he could see. In Atlantis, the only thing behind the gate was the outer wall of the tower.

There was something else that was different.

People were starting to emerge from side corridors or rooms. Their clothing was all soft browns or off whites.

"Do you think?" Elizabeth muttered softly. By all appearances these people looked exactly like Ancients. Some of them could even be seen holding scanners or other devices familiar from Atlantis

Clearing her throat, Elizabeth addressed the inhabitants of the city. "Hello. We are the people that sent the device through the Stargate. We come in friendship."



A man stepped forward, he was rather average looking with dirty blond hair. His eyes were a light blue and he stood roughly the same height as John. He smiled at Elizabeth's simple greeting. "Greetings, my name is Niamh. Welcome to Asuras."

**January 14****th****, 10:15AM Planet M7R227, Pegasus Galaxy**

Elizabeth, John, and the others were led by Niamh down the corridor opening behind the Stargate. The passage was lined with windows and afforded the travelers with an incredible view that served to further strengthen their hope that the Asurans were Ancients.

Through the windows, the party could see a massive city which sprawled as far as the eye could see. The architecture was very similar to Atlantis with tall metallic buildings accompanied by squat square shaped compounds and round soaring tower like structures.

"How many people live here?" Ronon asked when everyone stopped to look out on the city.

Niamh turned his attention to the large man and replied honestly. "Millions make this city home."

"Power…power…ZPMs, they must have at least three ZPMs." Rodney whispered softly to John. Atlantis had two ZPMs and could get more but it would be extremely useful to have another supply available.

"How many ZPMs are you using to power this city?" Rodney asked only to have to explain what a ZPM was when Niamh looked at him with a confused expression.

It was only after Rodney explained that a ZPM was device that tapped vacuum energy contained in a pocket universe that Niamh understood and answered. "Oh, we have many such devices, more than enough to suit our needs."

Rodney's face lit up.

"Rodney, we already have two ZPMs and we know how to make more. What's the big deal?"

"Don't you want something to fall back on if we can't find the element necessary to make our own?"

John nodded in agreement but there was something about this place and Niamh in particular that was making the hair on the back of his neck standup.

"I wouldn't hold your breath Rodney."

Up front, Elizabeth was talking to Niamh, attempting to get information about his people but he was being very closed mouthed other than the vague details that he'd provided already.

Ronon and Markham were standing to either side keeping an eye on things despite the fact that these people were apparently peaceful, so far anyway.

"Come, the high council will be eager to meet with you." Niamh exclaimed bringing everyone's attention back to him.

**January 14****th****, 10:15AM Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**



Jason groaned and swung his legs over the side of the medical bed he'd by lying on. School sucked was all he could think at the moment. Everything had finally been setup when the Daedelus had delivered the equipment during its last visit a few days ago and now here he was in another galaxy, living in a city that was millions of years old and oh yeah it was a spaceship too.

All those things aside, what did Jason have to look forward to? Some might have said adventure or mysteries, or excitement after all being in another galaxy had to be pretty cool. But no, Jason was stuck in the infirmary for 7 hours a day wired up to a virtual reality machine so that he could continue his education.

It had been bad enough going to high school and listening to teachers drone on about some insignificant fact or theory before. Now he didn't even have his friends to joke with and help pass the time.

A quick glance at his watch and Jason groaned again but this time there was a much whinier tone to it. He just couldn't believe it. Two hours, that's all it had been. He still had another 5 hours to go before he was done for the day.

"Ahh I see that you finished your first lesson, any problems?" The friendly face of Carson Beckett appeared before him. Yes the man was kind and generous but right now Jason wanted someone he could complain to not someone who would make him feel bad for complaining.

"Yeah, it was thrilling. I can't wait to get back for more."

Carson ignored the obvious sarcasm and quickly began to run a few tests to make sure there were no adverse affects from using the device for such an extended length of time. The SGC regularly used them for training but Jason's physiology was not the same as a normal human anymore so there was always the possibility that something could go wrong.

"Come on now, I loved high school. I'm sure it isn't as bad as you make it out." Carson replied reasonably while noting down the test results in the computer. "Only two hours more and then you can take a break for lunch."

"This is so unfair." Yet Jason knew he had no choice but to lie back down and let Carson connect him up to the evil machine again.

**January 14****th****, 11:15AM Planet M7R227, Pegasus Galaxy**

"Well that went well." John said sarcastically from his position near the window.

Elizabeth agreed with him. The meeting with the high council had been a disaster.

Oberoth, a rather portly but imposing man that appeared to be in his early to mid 60s had been the primary spokesman for the Asurans. He explained that the Asurans had broken away from the other Ancients over a difference in opinion which stemmed from the others arrogance. Since that time the Asurans had worked to develop a plan that would destroy the Wraith but this plan would only be implemented at a time of the Asurans choosing.



Things had degenerated quickly from there. It quickly became evident when Elizabeth explained their situation and status as explorers from a far off location that Oberoth viewed them as nothing more than annoyances.

After spending another 20 minutes in fruitless discussions, they were led to a room where they could wait while Elizabeth spoke to Oberoth one on one. From Elizabeth, Oberoth learned that Atlantis had survived the Wraith siege and was serving as their home base. Despite all this, Oberoth refused to lend any aid or even to allow the Asuran city to be used to house refugees.

Disgruntled and disappointed, Elizabeth returned to the others.

"I don't think they are Ancients." She said in response to John. "Something seems off about them."

Ronon added his two cents. "There is no plan to attack the Wraith."

Rodney looked up from his laptop. "Why would they lie?"

"I don't know but Oberoth seemed very interested to hear that Atlantis had survived."

John straightened. He didn't like Oberoth's interest in Atlantis. He didn't trust the man or really any of the Asurans. "Maybe we should get out of here. They're not going to be any help and I doubt they would be willing to give up any neutronium so we can manufacture more drones."

No one disagreed and they quickly gathered their equipment and headed for the gate room. Before they get more than halfway to the Gate, Asurans surrounded them with their weapons drawn. Left with no other options they surrendered their weapons.

Oberoth ordered the guards to "Take them to a holding cell. We will question them shortly."

**January 14****th****, 12:30PM Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

"Awww did you have a rough morning?" Catherine asked sweetly.

Jason grumbled but refused to give her any more ammunition to use against him. As it was she was teasing him mercilessly about having to go back to school.

"Laugh it up. I'm surprised you want to be seen dating someone still in high school. Of course, I on the other hand get to score with an older woman." Jason had learned long ago from John that the best way to avoid embarrassment was to turn it back on the other person.

Just as he hoped, Catherine blushed brightly at his comment but he wasn't sure whether it was because of the older woman or the scoring with her portion of the comment.

Catherine was no stranger to verbal sparring and it was one of the reasons why she liked spending time with Jason. They both knew that there was nothing serious going on but it was nice to be able to act somewhat close to her own age and just relax. Around the other members of the expedition she always felt that she had to prove herself.



"But you forget, I've seen you naked." It was something that had bothered Jason a lot when they first started seeing each other. Of course it was a moot point now but it still opened up possibilities. "You definitely have certain assets that outweigh any potential embarrassment from your lack of education."

It was Jason's turn to blush.

"Ah, my two favorite workers, do you mind if I join you?"

Jason waved a hand towards one of the empty chairs at the table. "Of course Carson."

Catherine smiled at Jason, well aware of the reason he was so willing for Carson to join them. Mentally she chalked a victory up in her favor. "So Carson, any word on Dr. Weir and Colonel Sheppard?"

Jason jerked his head around to look at Carson. This was the first he heard of any mission.

"What mission? Why did Elizabeth…I mean Dr. Weir go?"

Catherine's smile grew a little and she leaned forward over her tray of food so that she was closer to Jason and Carson. "Elizabeth is it, do I have competition? I didn't realize that she liked younger men."

Carson spluttered, taken completely by surprise.

Jason shuddered. "That's just wrong on so many levels; I don't even know where to begin."

Carson patted Jason on the shoulder in commiseration. "Aye lad, maybe I need to have a few tests down on the young doctor here. Clearly her stay in Atlantis is affecting her judgment."

"I'm not sure if I should be insulted or not." Replied Jason blandly.

Carson was silent for a few seconds as he thought about what he'd said and how it could be interpreted. Rather than clarify he simply said "I stand by what I said."

Once again, Catherine's light bubbly laugh burst out. "Oh, I think we've both been insulted Jason. Now perhaps if the old man is done teasing, he can tell us how the mission is going?"

"Aye your brother and Elizabeth have gone to meet with a group of people that by all appearances are Ancients."

"Really? We found living…well non-ascended Ancients?" Jason supposed even those that ascended to a high state of being were still technically alive after all.

"It looks that way. Elizabeth was hoping to open diplomatic relations with them immediately."

"So I might not be alone then." Jason muttered softly.

Carson heard Jason though and filed the information away. It was only natural for Jason to feel that way but his brother needed to know about it. He had every confidence that John would be able to help Jason and make sure that he knew he would always have a family here at Atlantis and at home.

The three spent the next 20 minutes in friendly conversation. When Carson finally finished his lunch he told Jason that it was time to go back to school.

**January 14****th****, 2:00PM Planet M7R227, Pegasus Galaxy**

John wasn't going to waste the opportunity that had just walked into their holding cell.

Niamh had walked in wheeling a cart filled with food. A quick glance shared with Ronon was enough to set things in motion. The large man moved forward to distract Niamh while at the same time John moved close enough to one of the guards escorting Niamh to snatch his weapon.

Ronon acted at the same time, slamming his fist into Niamh's jaw sending the man crashing to the floor dazed.

John shot both guards before they could react. Both men collapsed to the floor unconscious.

"Let's get out of here." John ordered leaving the cell.

The others quickly fell in place behind him. As they made their way through the corridors John avoided the gate room instead heading to the Puddle Jumper bay.

"Why do we need a Puddle Jumper?" Rodney whined when the hatch to the spacecraft closed.

"Because Rodney, we can dial the gate from here before they can react. Unless you want to fight off the guards until we can dial out that is." John explained in a patronizing tone.

Teyla dialed the address to Atlantis and John lowered the Puddle Jumper into the gate room and through the Stargate before the Asurans could shut the gate down.

Once they were back in Atlantis, John was talking to Elizabeth in her office.

"I wonder how many other splinter groups of Ancients are out there." Elizabeth mused from her seat behind her desk. Everyone was disappointed that the meeting had been such an utter failure.

John just snorted in disgust. "If they are anything like the Asurans we'd be better off leaving them alone. Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing them taken down a peg or two. Our brothers were arrogant…"

"Yes, Oberoth was more than a little pompous. I wanted to…"

"Colonel Sheppard, Dr. Weir please report to the control room."

John and Elizabeth looked at each other in surprise before leaving her office.

John asked "What's the problem?" As soon as they were in the control room.

Zalenka tapped a few keys putting the display from his laptop onto the main screen. "Wraith, seven hive ships just dropped out of hyperspace. I've already sent Jason to the chair room."

Neither John nor Elizabeth had time to react. The Wraith hive ships had already begun bombarding the city. Blue bolts of energy slammed into the ocean and the outer piers. Atlantis shuddered as explosions tore away pieces of the city.

"Jason, raise the shield!"

"I'm trying but there's damage to the shield generators. John, there are fighters incoming!" Jason called back over the radio.

"More hyperspace windows are opening." Zalenka announced.

John grabbed the back of a chair to steady himself as another explosion rocked the city. "How many?"

Zalenka paled. "15, 15 Hive ships just emerged."

"We have to evacuate the…"

"Colonel sensors are picking up Wraith all over the city."

"Order the evacuation. Elizabeth we need to set the self-destruct."

The evacuation alarm started to blare. Zalenka dialed Earth at the same time that Elizabeth was setting her code in for the self-destruct.

"Jason get up here. There's nothing more to do!"

"John, I can't get…" John just froze when he heard Jason scream in agony. His world dropped away when the scream faded to a low gurgle before dropping off entirely.

"John your code, you need to enter it."

John knew what he had to do. "Go through the gate, I'll set the self-destruct and follow you through."

"John?"

"Go!" John had no intention of following. He watched with dead eyes as Elizabeth ran down the stairs and paused at the event horizon to the wormhole. She looked back at John and nodded, knowing full well what he intended to do.

John waited until Elizabeth stepped through the gate before entering in his code. He sat down in a chair and closed his eyes while he waited for the countdown to finish.

Instead of dying John's eyes snapped open and his face contorted in pain. Standing over him was Oberoth and the man had his hand buried in John's skull. The agonizing pain continued to shoot through his body until Oberoth removed his hand and turned away to leave the cell.



John collapsed to the floor groaning. He rolled onto his stomach and looked up with hate filled eyes. "Who are you people?"

Rodney and the others had been held back while Oberoth had 'probed' John's mind. They had no idea what he'd gone through but from his expression it wasn't pleasant.

Rodney answered fearfully. "They're not people, they're replicators!"

Just after Rodney's announcement, the city began to shake and hum with power.

**January 14****th****, 2:00PM Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

Evan Lorne was sitting in his CO's office staring at a large pile of paperwork placed neatly on the desk. 'This sucks!' he thought briefly when he reached for another report to review. He'd always thought that being in charge was what he wanted but with both Weir and Sheppard on missions, that left him in charge of Atlantis and the only one to review the mission reports in their absence.

Of course being a part of the SGC, Evan was used to submitting regular reports on his team's missions but he'd never really given much thought to the time it took his superiors to go through those reports. Now, he was quickly gaining a new measure of respect for Colonel Sheppard, assuming that is that the man hadn't found some way to fob the duty on to Dr. Weir.

But even joking to himself, Evan couldn't really give that idea any credence. Dr. Weir would never let her military commander get away with that. Yes they had a relaxed relationship but Dr. Weir was not someone who let herself be manipulated or even cajoled into doing something she didn't want to.

No, somehow, Colonel Sheppard found the time to review all the reports. To make the matter worse, he made the job look effortless. The man could often be found spending time with the scientists, the other soldiers, or even his brother. That last soured Evan's disposition.

It wasn't that he did it consciously but there was still some resentment towards the young man for breaking his leg. At the time, he'd accepted Jason's apology but as time passed and he was stuck on base for weeks, Evan grew more frustrated with the situation and the fact that he hadn't been informed of Jason's abilities ahead of time. As the XO he should have been made aware but it had been overlooked with the rush to return to Atlantis and prepare for another attack from the Wraith.

And, if he was going to be completely honest with himself, there was a certain amount of distrust of Jason there as well. During his time in the SGC, he had never encountered someone with powers like Jason's that didn't have an ulterior motive. So fair or not, Evan took everything about Jason with a grain of salt.

Sighing softly, Evan opened up the next report and began to read.

"Major Lorne, please come to the control room." The unmistakable voice of Dr. Radek Zalenka came over the loudspeaker.

Evan had never been so happy to be interrupted. After tapping his ear mic he said. "This is Lorne, I'm on my way."



A short walk and Evan found himself in the control room. "Doc what did you need?" Evan just hoped that whatever it was it would keep him busy enough to avoid going through more reports until Colonel Sheppard and Dr. Weir returned.

Zalenka was standing staring at one of the large displays dominating the control room.

Evan moved to stand next to the Czech scientist. On the screen was the silhouette of ship that looked familiar but it wouldn't make sense if he was right.

"What are we looking at?" Evan asked after a minute of staring.

Zalenka didn't turn towards him; he just continued studying the screen. "It is the Daedelus. Our long range sensors report that she is returning to Atlantis."

"What? Why? She just departed; she isn't due back for weeks." It wasn't even possible for the Daedelus to have made it to Earth yet, it had to have turned around mid-flight for some reason.

Zalenka crossed his arms over his chest and moved to sit back down at one of the computer stations dotted around the control room.

"I do not know. We have not received any communications. I can only surmise that they encountered some kind of mechanical problem that made the return trip to Earth too dangerous."

'Shit, why did this have to happen when both Sheppard and Weir were off-world?' "Ok when will the Daedelus arrive?"

Zalenka typed something on his computer and ran a quick calculation. "Based on their current speed, the Daedelus should arrive in approximately 12 hours."

"Ok, when we have our check in with Dr. Weir and Colonel Sheppard they will need to be notified of the situation."

**January 14****th****, 4:00PM Planet M7R227, Pegasus Galaxy**

John was silent following his experience. He now knew that everything he experienced had been a lie but it didn't change the fact that he thought he'd listened to his brother die. There were few things in the universe that John could say he truly hated or loathed the very existence of. The Wraith were on that list, clowns of course, and now the Asurans had just earned the #1 spot.

Only Ronon had recognized the look in John's eyes and that was because he saw it every day when he looked in the mirror. He knew that Sheppard then and there had vowed to himself to do everything in his power to make the Asurans suffer for what they'd done.

McKay had explained what the Asurans were doing to John and Ronon knew there was only one thing that could get such a reaction. If he'd been in John's place, he probably would've felt the same way. He owed John a lot. He wasn't on the run anymore, he had a home again for the first time in years, and he had a way to fight back against the Wraith. So Ronon made his own vow, if John needed his help 'explaining' things to the Asurans, he would be there for every step.



John barely even noticed that Ronon had moved closer to him. The large man didn't say anything but simply stood sentry over his friend doing what he could to provide strength and security.

Niamh had returned while John was still recovering. Despite Rodney's and Markham's misgivings, she let Niamh show her the history of the Asurans.

It had started as an experiment. The Ancients built nanites as a weapon to fight the Wraith. But over time, the nanites evolved and took more complex forms until they finally assumed the shapes of their creators. But the Ancients were disturbed by their creations; the aggression that had been programmed into them was terrifying and virtually impossible to control. In the end, the Ancients decided that the experiment was a failure and attempted to wipe the nanites from existence. Some nanites survived and over the years replicated and rebuilt until the city was as it was found by the expedition.

It turned out that Niamh wanted their help. He and many others wanted to ascend and they felt that the only way that they could do that would be to permanently remove the aggression that had been programmed into their very being. In return for their help, he would convince Oberoth not to destroy Atlantis.

There was some hurried discussion amongst the team but in the end Elizabeth agreed. She felt that it was the only way to try and save Atlantis. Plus she hoped that Rodney would be able to figure something out if he had access to the replicators' base code.

**January 14****th****, 4:00PM Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

A simulated classroom of 20 high students was interesting for all of 5 minutes. After that Jason was stuck listening to the teacher drone on and on in a monotone voice. It was like his worst nightmare come to life. Here he was stuck in school or a simulation of it anyway and there was no one to distract him. He couldn't even do magic to entertain himself, not that anyone had said anything but who knew how it would react to the virtual environment. The last thing he needed was some homicidal computer program coming after him like what had happened to Teal'c when they first started developing the system.

Without realizing it, Jason's thoughts began to echo Evan's from earlier in the day. Wishing, wishing that something would come to take him away from the hell that was a computer generated high school.

Sometime later, long after Jason had resorted to watching the second had on the clock slowly tick away something did happen.

The teacher's form blurred and flickered for a few seconds pulling Jason's attention back to him from watching the clock. As he watched the teacher oscillated between his normal appearance and a woman wearing a soft white dress. Eventually after flipping back and forth only the woman remained.

Jason looked and saw that all the students were frozen as well. Well, who knew that an Ancient could visit him in a virtual reality? Somehow though he wasn't totally surprised by his visitor, ever since learning that John and Elizabeth had left to visit a planet inhabited people that may be Ancients, the hair on the back of his neck had been standing up.

Trying to put on a brave front Jason greeted the woman. "Hello Delus, I didn't think I would ever see you again. Figured you'd been punished."

Delus grimaced and moved to stand closer to Jason. "No I was not punished but I am under closer observation than ever. This environment has afforded me an opportunity that I could not pass up. The others will not think to look for me here."

Jason was really starting to get a sinking feeling now and wanted to bang his head on the desk. Why did all this crap happen to him? "I'm assuming you aren't stopping by just to see how I'm doing then."

"No, I wish that I was. I came to deliver a warning."

As much as he now wished otherwise, Jason paid close attention to what Delus was saying. He knew she wouldn't have come here on a whim so something important must be happening. "What? Is it the Wraith? Have they found us?"

Delus shook her head and began to pace slowly back and forth in front of Jason. If he didn't know better, he'd say she looked ashamed or possibly embarrassed.

"You must ready the city for battle. You will need to face them in space; it is your only hope."

"Face who? Space? What are you talking about?" Jason's voice rose as the questions poured out. John wasn't here; could he do this without John?

Still Delus continued to pace and she never looked directly at Jason which only reinforced his feeling that she was ashamed or embarrassed about something.

"If you don't, you will not be able to defend the city when they come for you. Without drones, you would be virtually defenseless."

"What about…"

"No, their might is a match for Atlantis. By confronting them in space, you will be able to use the city's beam weapons. Please Jason you must trust me on this. If Atlantis falls, you will be condemning the humans of this galaxy to a lifetime of pain and suffering at the hands of the Wraith."

"So no pressure then." Jason said to himself. "Ok, I believe you but who is going to attack?"

"I fear you brother and Dr. Weir have drawn the attention of…" Delus trailed off. Even now after millennia, Delus was ashamed of the role she had played. She had been one of the lead scientists and it had been her idea to end the experiment.

"Delus, please I need to know what we are facing and if my brother is in danger." Jason pleaded with the woman. He'd gotten up from his desk and stopped her pacing with a hand to her shoulder.

"They are…were…an experiment, a weapon to fight the Wraith. Now they are another mistake, one of so many we have made. Only now it is you and the others what will pay the price of our arrogance."

"But…"



"You must hurry or all will be lost. Even now, they are on their way."

Before Jason could ask any more questions, Delus disappeared and the program resumed.

"Crap, I need to get out here and warn someone!" Jason tapped his wrist three times which was the emergency shutdown signal.

As soon as he opened his eyes, Jason began disconnecting himself from the machine and called out. "Carson!"

**January 14****th****, 6:00PM Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

It had taken some time for Jason to convince Carson that he'd really spoken to an Ascended Ancient as opposed to experiencing a delusion or having a stroke caused by the device. Jason's nerves had been sorely tested when Carson insisted on putting him through a whole battery of tests before contacting Major Lorne.

Jason had to shake his head when he saw Major Lorne walk into the conference room followed by Dr. Zalenka. It had to be the one soldier that he'd injured. The universe must be laughing at him or simply enjoying how difficult it made his life sometime.

"What's the situation?" Lorne began the meeting. It was obvious to the other three people in the room that he didn't put much stock in Jason's warning. Instead he was looking to Carson and Zalenka for answers.

Jason imagined he was lucky to even be in the room. He probably wouldn't have been if Carson hadn't pushed for it. Unlike Lorne, Carson believed Jason and had seen other experiences with the Ascended before. In fact he knew that was how Colonel Sheppard attained the address to one of the worlds that held an Ancient research laboratory.

Zalenka spoke first after trading a glance with Carson. His experience with the Ancients wasn't as direct as Carson's had been but he still he felt that it was too risky to ignore the warning.

"I have examined the system and there was an energy surge that coincides with the timing of when Jason said he was in communication with the Ancient."

Lorne was trying to put his distrust aside but he couldn't just let Jason launch the city into space without some form of corroboration. Yes they now knew how to create ZPMs if they could find the materials, but until then, they still needed to be careful with the two that they had.

"Do we know what the cause was? Is it possible that the surge caused some sort of problem with the program?"

The questions were reasonable but unfortunately no one had any answers.

Zalenka shook his head. "No, it is possible that something corrupted the program, but that seems unlikely."



"You mean an Ancient appearing in a simulated high school classroom to talk to a kid is more likely?" Lorne asked sarcastically.

"Hey! She's spoken to me before. Besides what's the big deal? We launch the city and if there is no attack, great but if something does happen…" Jason left it hanging there. Everyone in the room could fill in the blanks.

"This isn't like taking your dad's car out for a joy ride."

"You don't think I know that! I was the one who flew the city last time if you remember. Or maybe you don't…" Jason let his snide comment trail. The scowl on Lorne's face was enough to tell him that he'd scored a hit. Probably not the best move he admitted to himself.

"Ahem…" Zalenka cleared his throat to get their attention. "I can try and retrieve a recording of the session. It should be stored in the active memory but it may take some time to compile, there is a massive amount of information generated to support the environment."

Lorne nodded. "Is there anything showing up on our sensors?"

"No but if the warning is to be believed the threat must be a similar technological level to the Ancients. It is possible that they have a means for hiding from our sensors, like the Puddle Jumpers' cloak."

"Ok then we wait. Zalenka let me know when you have something." Lorne said before leaving the conference room.

Jason was left with a cold pit in his gut that he found very hard to ignore.

**January 15****th****, 12:00AM Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

The lights were dark in his room. Jason had given up on reading hours ago after reading the same page 5 times. His mind kept going back to Delus' warning. If they didn't act soon, it could be too late. Whatever the threat was, she'd said they were already on their way to Atlantis.

Groaning in frustration, he rolled over and buried his head in his pillow. Still sleep refused to come, his mind raced with possibilities and what-if scenarios. Each one ended worse than the one before.

Another debate was racing in his mind, what would be the repercussions if he simply went to the chair room and made the decision for Lorne. If there was really an enemy on the way to attack Atlantis than it would probably be overlooked but if nothing happened than the shit would definitely hit the fan.

Not for the first time, Jason found himself wishing that John were around. He would have made the decision for Jason. 'Fuck!' he thought, what would John do if he were here? In the past, John had gone against direct orders of his superiors and even Elizabeth when he thought they were making a bad decision.

Jason wondered if he had the right to do that here. He didn't have any of John's training but Delus had chosen him and he was the only one that could keep the city safe if there was an attack. Doesn't that mean that he needed to do what he felt was right?



Lorne wasn't going to believe him or trust him enough to give him the benefit of the doubt. Carson would and probably even Zalenka but not Lorne. True, he'd broken the man's leg but how long was he going to hold that over Jason's head?

There was really no option. Jason knew what he had to do but he was more than a little reluctant to do it. Swearing to himself again, he got up and dressed quickly.

The hallways of Atlantis were quiet which made it much easier for Jason to make his way to the chair room undetected. It's always easier to ask for forgiveness than permission that was a lesson he'd learned when he was a kid. Yes John would probably punish him but if it meant that the city survived, Jason could live with that.

The transporter flared briefly and then Jason stepped out at his destination. The control chair was in the base of the tower. He walked by the open entrance of the room to see if anyone was in there, trying to make it seem like he was casually walking by.

Fortunately, no one was in there because his presence alone would have raised questions.

Jason paused for a moment in front of the chair. This was it; he was going to do this. His doubts pushed aside for the time being Jason sat down in the control chair and smiled in contentment as he connected to the city.

Up in the control room technicians monitoring the power systems noticed the slight drop in power when Jason shunted it to the star drive and the shields.

One of the technicians stood up from his station and went to the balcony to look outside unwilling to believe his monitor. Sure enough, the shimmering silver defense shield had been raised over the city.

"Do you know what's going on?" He asked the other technician.

She shook her head and tapped her radio. "Major Lorne, Dr. Zalenka please report to the control room. I repeat Major Lorne and Dr. Zalenka please report to the…"

Whatever she was going to say was cutoff when the city began to rumble as the great engines powered up. The ocean around the city began to churn as torrents of energy were cast off from the star drive providing the lift necessary to take the city into orbit.

"What the hell is going on?"

Dr. Zalenka came running into the control room and pushed the male technician out of the way so he could access his computer. "What is Jason doing?"

Moments later, Lorne came in going as fast as the cast on his leg would allow. "Why are we taking off?" Lorne had actually stopped to look out a window when the city started to shake. He'd expected an attack of some sort not to see the city rising into the air.

"I do not know. There is only one person who could be responsible."



Lorne growled in annoyance and frustration. "Jason, shut down the engines. I have not given you authorization to take the city anywhere!"

There was a brief hiss of static before it was replaced by Jason's voice. "I'm sorry but we'll be in orbit shortly. This was the only way. If I waited any longer it might have been too late."

Lorne switched his ear mic to the military only frequency. "Jenkins, Miller I need you to…"

Zalenka cut him off. "Major, our proximity sensors are picking up an inbound spacecraft."

"The Daedelus?"

"No it is too large. The configuration…" Zalenka typed in a command and transferred the display to the main screen. "It's an Ancient city ship. At current speeds it will be here within the hour."

"If it's an Ancient ship wouldn't that mean that they have the same weapons?"

"It is quite likely. Which means…"

"Which means they will have drones too." Lorne finished. "I hope Jason is wrong about the danger but for now I don't see the harm in staying in space."

**January 15****th****, 1:50AM Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

The control room was inundated with light when another salvo slammed into the shield near the tower.

Lorne was thrown to floor when the city rocked sharply as explosions rippled across the shield.

"Doc! How much longer can we keep this up?" The city was groaning and shaking around them. Flashes of green weapons fire were visible through the stained glass windows around the control room.

Before Zalenka could answer both men were thrown to the floor again.

--

At the same time, Jason was in the control chair concentrating on the battle. It took all his concentration to fly the city and counter as much of the enemy fire as possible. He wished he remembered how he had destroyed the Wraith Cruiser because it would come in handy about now.

"Fuck!" He swore softly when he felt another salvo of drones impact the shield and rattle the city.

"Jason, listen to me."

If he hadn't heard that voice before and the familiar presence he would have been shocked but as it was, he was just thankful. Perhaps the voice meant help was on the way.

"Jason you must concentrate on the shield. You need to…"

Her voice faded and Jason received an image in his mind of what he needed to do. The shields would not be as effective in stopping the drones but it may give them the edge they need to take out the other ship.

"Isn't there anything else you can do? Can't you just…" He didn't even bother finishing his question because the familiar presence had faded already.

--

The system that Zalenka was using to monitor the condition of the city began to flash in warning. Startled, he began to swear in Czech drawing Lorne's attention.

"What's going on?"

"Jason is modifying the shield frequency." Zalenka replied almost distractedly while typing furiously on the keyboard. He couldn't understand what Jason was doing. The difference in frequency was going to…

"No no no no, what is he doing?"

"Doc?" Lorne half asked and half growled. He was standing directly behind the Czech scientist looking over his shoulder but he didn't understand anything he was seeing.

Again, before Zalenka could answer an explosion rocked the tower. Lorne looked around in confusion he didn't need Zalenka to tell him something was wrong. Somehow, something had managed to penetrate the shield; fires were spreading out near the base of the tower.

"What just hit us?!"

The other soldiers and scientists in the room were scurrying around the different control stations assessing the damage and initiating repair procedures.

"It is the shield. Whatever Jason has done has weakened the shield? It will not be able to stop the incoming drones in this configuration." Zalenka continued typing away trying to make sense of the changes. He did not doubt that Jason had a reason for doing it but he was unable to figure out the reason.

Lorne turned towards two of the soldiers still in the control room. "Get down to the chair room. I want Jason Sheppard out of that chair!"

Lorne thought about what he'd just ordered as the soldiers saluted and left the control room. Yes Jason was Colonel Sheppard's brother but he was not comfortable with having an 18 year old responsible for the safety of the Atlantis. Now, it looked like Jason was risking Atlantis by weakening the shields, it was possible that he was even compromised in some way. If necessary, he would remove him by force.

"…Don't think that is wise." Zalenka commented.

Lorne pulled himself back from his thoughts and only caught the tail end of what the scientist was saying.

"What was that? What isn't wise?"



"I don't think it is possible to remove Jason from the control chair. He is the only one that can control the city. We will be defenseless."

Lorne gritted his teeth, he needed an alternative. "Find me another way then. He's leaving us open to attack. You have until those men get down to the chair room to figure out an alternative."

**January 15****th****, 1:52AM Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

The city shield protecting Atlantis was crackling with energy. Emerald green plasma was arcing over the shield. With every incoming shot, the shield grew more and more unstable and the plasma arcing over the shield grew more intense. Incoming drones were being destroyed before they came near the shield when plasma would arc from the shield like lightning.

"Doc what the hell is going on?" Lorne called out. He had moved away from the consoles and was looking out the open door to the balcony. Looking up at the shield he felt like he was in the middle of some bizarre thunderstorm.

"The shield stability has been compromised. The energy is not being dispersed as it normally would be instead whatever Jason has done has caused a sort of feedback loop. I don't know how much longer the shield can hold before there is a catastrophic failure. When that happens we will be exposed to space."

That got Lorne's attention. The balcony door closed as he stepped back into the control room.

"Can the tower be sealed?"

--

"Just a little more, I'm almost there." Jason muttered to himself. He was completely unaware of his surroundings; his full attention was on the shields and the changes he was making to them. Delus had shown him a way to modify the shield frequency that would amplify the city's beam weapons as they passed through, but it was extremely difficult, especially when he had to keep the city from being destroyed before he finished.

**January 15****th****, 1:55AM Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

The chair room was filled with the soft blue light radiating out from the base of the control chair. No other lights were needed because Jason was the only one in the room. His own eyes were closed as he concentrated on the shield modifications while at the same time directing the city's defenses. It was not easy work and the sweat covering his body was ample evidence.

When finished, the shield modifications given to him by Delus would route the power of the incoming energy weapons to the city's defenses increasing their power dramatically. But there was no way to know how long the weapons would last before they burned out. The only other option was to run and other than the Milky Way galaxy, Jason wasn't sure where they could go that would be safe.

"Almost there…just a few more adjustments."

It was at that moment that the two marines that Lorne had sent arrived at the entrance to the chair room. Both men moved inside and prepared to remove Jason from the chair, by force if necessary.

"Sir, you need to step away from the control chair." Sergeant Bateman ordered. It felt weird calling the kid sir but nothing else was really appropriate either.

Jason opened his eyes in surprise. "No I need a little more time, I'm just about done."

The other marine radioed Lorne. "Sir he's refusing to move. What do you want us to do?"

There was only a momentarily pause before Lorne answered "Stun him."

Both men hear the order and while they were a little reluctant to stun their CO's younger brother, they couldn't ignore a direct order either.

"We are so screwed." Bateman said softly as both men fired their Wraith stunners.

Jason gasped before collapsing back into the chair. The room was blanketed in darkness as the chair deactivated at virtually the same time.

Across the city, the weapons ceased firing and the wild maneuvering came to halt. Atlantis hung dead in space.

In the control room, Lorne ordered "Do what you can to get control of the city. We won't last long like this."

Zalenka muttered to himself about short-sighted military. The shields were fluctuating wildly and the energy feedback was growing in intensity with each shot absorbed.

"Sir we have a hyperspace window opening."

"What? Who is it?"

"It's the Daedelus sir."

**January 15****th****, 1:57AM Asuran City, Pegasus Galaxy**

John and the others had scouted out the route to the jumper bay in the hours that Rodney had been working on the base-code for the Asuran replicators. It went unspoken that there would only be one chance at this. No one counted on Oberoth being so generous as to leave them alive a second time around.

In the intervening hours, the city had finished the journey to Atlantis. But when they arrived, the Asurans had been stunned to find the city waiting for them in orbit. Not bothering to respond to the communication hails coming from Atlantis, Oberoth ordered the city to attack immediately.

John didn't know why Atlantis was in space but he was thankful. It meant that they had a chance. It also meant that the Asurans were occupied with the battle rather than focusing on anything Rodney was doing. With luck, they may just be able to get out of the city in one piece and swing the battle in Atlantis' favor at the same time.

Unknown to anyone but Rodney, John had asked him to work on sabotaging the city. After what had happened to him, he didn't trust Niamh any more than the other Asurans. Unfortunately, Rodney quickly found out that it would be impossible to sabotage the power systems without the proper access 

codes but for some bizarre reasons the shield systems weren't as protected. Rodney could only theorize that because the Asurans were machines and could download their consciousness over vast distances they were less concerned about the defense.

It wasn't until almost a full 30 minutes into the battle that Rodney finally signaled John that he was ready to go. By making minor changes in the base code, Rodney would be able to trigger a temporary shutdown that would paralyze the Asurans but he wasn't able to predict how long it would take before they were able to overcome the shutdown command.

As much as it pained him to do, John waited. It took Rodney another twenty minutes to collect everything and meet up with John and the others. He'd downloaded the commands into his tablet and jury rigged it to an Asuran communicator so he would be able to send the commands remotely.

Now, with Rodney once again with the main group, John just needed to get everyone to a Puddle Jumper without anyone stopping them. Of course he also had to somehow get into Atlantis with the shields up and a foreign Puddle Jumper but he quickly decided to cross that particular bridge later. If his plan went as he hoped Jason would be able to destroy the Asurans, everything else should be a cakewalk.

Rodney was able to hold off on issuing the shutdown command until they were in the Puddle Jumper and opening the ceiling access port for lift-off.

Throughout the city, Replicator froze. Weapons continued to fire at preset targets even if there was a halt to the drones. Even Niamh, who had been accompanying them in the hopes of learning the secrets to Ascension, was frozen. John had no difficulty or crisis of conscience when he pushed the frozen replicator out of the Puddle Jumper and took off, leaving him behind to face the others.

"Rodney, get ready with that second command. But wait till I give the order." John snapped.

Rodney had everything set on his tablet. All he needed to do was finishing keying in the final sequence and the Asurans shields would collapse.

**January 15****th****, 1:58AM Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

"Report!" Stephen Caldwell was having a bad week.

First he'd been forced to turn around and return to Atlantis after a Wraith virus nearly killed everyone on board. In the process of eradicating the virus they'd been forced to destroy their own communications array after it had started to transmit a distress signal to the Wraith. Things went downhill after that until they tried rebooting the systems to erase the virus. It worked but only after the virus had damaged life support systems. In their current state, they never would have completed the voyage back to Earth so they had turned around but without communications they couldn't get in touch with Atlantis.

When the Daedelus had emerged from hyperspace it took them a few seconds to realize what they were looking at. Atlantis and another city ship were blasting away at each. Only it was impossible to tell which was which until one of the ships launched another salvo of drones. Caldwell knew then which one was the enemy. Atlantis would not have had time to find or construct drones in the short amount of time they had been gone.

"Sir both ships have suffered minor damage. The enemy ship's shields appear to weakening. Wait, sir the Atlantis star drive and weapons systems seem to be powering down. Oh my god, Atlantis' shields are unstable, they are nearing overload!"

"Target the enemy city with all missiles and prepare to fire. We need to draw fire away from Atlantis." Caldwell waited for the missile safety protocols to be set before he launched. He didn't know if they would do much against those shields but it was certain that the rail guns wouldn't do any appreciable damage.

"Sir missiles are ready." The tactical officer announced from his station.

At virtually the same time the navigator officer reported "I'm picking up a Puddle Jumper leaving the enemy city. Reading 5 people on board including Colonel Sheppard and Doctor Weir."

"Beam them aboard and then fire."

There was a flash of light on the bridge. When it faded, John, Elizabeth, Rodney, Ronon, and Markham looked around in surprise.

"Stephen what are you doing here?" Asked Elizabeth.

"Now's not the time Dr. Weir. Launch all missiles." Stephen repeated the order.

"Belay that order." Interrupted John.

John knew his relationship with Caldwell was shaky at best so he didn't want to waste any time in explaining why he would countermand his superior's order.

"Sir, McKay can shut down their shields. Just give him a minute before firing."

Caldwell nodded. It would give them a better chance of destroying the ship. "Do it Dr. McKay."

Rodney pulled out his tablet and typed furiously for a few seconds entering in the final commands. "And…got it! Sending the shut down command."

"Sir Atlantis' shields are overloading!"

**January 15****th****, 2:03AM Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy**

"Shields are critical! Without the weapons to bleed off energy…they are going to overload. I can't stop it."

All noise in the control room was drowned out by the crackle of energy followed by an ear-splitting detonation. The room filled with iridescent green light as the shield overloaded.

Outside the city, plasma arced over the surface of the shield and then the entire shield expanded outward in all directions. The energy from the drones and plasma weapons that had been absorbed was all released in a massive burst.

Being closest, the Daedelus was hit first. The shields were able to deflect the energy but still the great ship was tossed end over end rolling away in space. Inside systems shorted and circuit breakers blew filling the bridge with smoke. The crew just held on trying to ride out the worst of it.

The wave hit the Asuran city next just as its shields fell. The energy washed over the city. With no shields to blunt the impact or deflect the energy from the wave, the city was torn apart. The piers at the leading edge of the wave disintegrated severing power conduits and initiating a feedback into the city's trio of ZPMs. The resulting explosion left nothing behind.

The Daedelus stabilized itself and cruised back towards Atlantis.

Looking out the central viewport, John was the first to notice that only the central spire was encased in a shield.

"I hope they evacuated everyone to the tower." He said.

Stephen, Elizabeth and the others all joined him. Atlantis hung there in space unmoving and apparently unaffected by the violent overload of the city's shields.

"Is there any word from Atlantis? Do we know they survived?" Asked Elizabeth.

"Communications are down ma'am but I am picking up life signs from within the city."

After some discussion, John took an F-302 space fighter and launched. He was doing a survey of the city and using the fighter's radio to try and make contact with the city.

For an agonizing minute, he heard nothing in response to his calls. Just when he began to think that everyone was unconscious or worse, he heard Lorne's voice come back over the radio.

"It's good to hear your voice sir. I take it the negotiations didn't go so well."


End file.
